FEELING LIKE A MOTHERLESS CHILD: WHEN YOUR VULNERABILITY MAKES YOU A VICTIM, YOU MAY BECOME VOICELESS TO SEX TRAFFICKING.

Abstract

When a 16-year-old is addicted to drugs and engages in prostitution for money to purchase drugs, who is the predator and who is the prey? Is the minor a willing participant? Should it matter if he or she previously engaged in prostitution? This Article looks at United States v. Aundre Davis, a case in the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. In Davis, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Ohio at Toledo applied an undue-influence enhancement – a sentencing increase when a defendant unduly influences a minor to engage in prohibited sexual conduct – to Davis’s sentence. The appellate court concluded that the district court did not provide an adequate explanation for applying the sentencing enhancement and remanded the case to the district court for resentencing. This Article explores how other circuit courts have interpreted the undue-influence enhancement and also discusses the unforeseen or unintended consequences on the victim when an appellate court remands a human trafficking case to the trial court. When victims find their voices and decide to talk about their ordeals, they may not be sure what to say or who can help them. After escaping a trafficking situation, victims should not feel re-traumatized by the criminal justice system. Therefore, the author recommends specialized training for actors in the criminal justice system to learn about the dynamics of human trafficking and how to acknowledge the significant pain and trauma victims have experienced. That trauma affects a victim’s psychological, emotional, and physical well-being as well as their court testimony. Without trauma-informed practices, law enforcement, judges, attorneys, and social workers cannot successfully create partnerships with community-based organizations and mental health professionals, protect victims, prosecute traffickers, and prevent trafficking.