Selected Statutes: Arkansas

(a) A person commits the offense of trafficking of persons if he or she knowingly:

(1) Recruits, harbors, transports, obtains, entices, solicits, isolates, provides, or maintains a person when he or she knows or reasonably should know that the person will be subjected to involuntary servitude;

(2) Benefits financially or benefits by receiving anything of value from participation in a venture that he or she knows or reasonably should know is engaged in conduct prohibited under subdivision (a)(1) of this section;

(3) Subjects a person to involuntary servitude;

(4) Recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports, provides, maintains, or obtains a minor for commercial sexual activity;

(5) Sells or offers to sell travel services that he or she knows or reasonably should know include an activity prohibited under subdivisions (a)(1)-(4) of this section;

(6) Recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports, provides, maintains, or obtains a pregnant woman for the purpose of causing the pregnant woman to place her unborn child for adoption by:

(A) The use of or threatened use of physical force;

(B) The physical restraint or threat of physical restraint of a person;

(C) Serious physical injury or threat of serious physical injury to a person;

(D) Abuse or threatened abuse of law or legal process;

(E) Any scheme, plan, or pattern that has a purpose to cause the pregnant woman to believe that, if the pregnant woman does not place the unborn child for adoption, a person would suffer serious physical injury or physical restraint; or

(F) Means of serious harm or threats of serious harm to a person;

(7) Benefits financially or benefits by receiving anything of value from participating in an act described under subdivision (a)(6) of this section; or

(8) Recruits, entices, solicits, isolates, harbors, transports, provides, maintains, or obtains a minor for the purpose of causing the minor to join or remain in a criminal organization or engage in a violation of criminal law by:

(A) The use or threatened use of physical force;

(B) The causing of serious physical harm to another person;

(C) The threat of causing serious physical harm to another person;

(D) Coercion, duress, or menace; or

(E) Any scheme, plan, or pattern that has a purpose to cause a minor to believe that, if the minor does not join or remain in the criminal organization or engage in a violation of criminal law, another person would suffer serious harm.

(b) It is not a defense to prosecution under subdivisions (a)(4) and (a)(8) of this section that the actor:

(1) Did not have knowledge of a victim’s age; or

(2) Mistakenly believed a victim was not a minor.

(c)(1) Trafficking of persons is a Class A felony.

(2) Trafficking of persons is a Class Y felony if a victim was a minor at the time of the offense.

(d)(1) In addition to any other sentence authorized by this section, a person who violates this section by offering to pay, agreeing to pay, or paying a fee to engage in sexual activity upon conviction shall be ordered to pay a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000) nor more than fifteen thousand dollars ($15,000).

(2) Fine payments received under subdivision (d)(1) of this section shall be deposited ; and1 into the Arkansas Human Trafficking Council Support Fund.