New laws to impact prosecution for human trafficking

South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson met June 1 with the South Carolina Human Trafficking Task Force to discuss new laws which he said will aid in prosecuting the offense.

In a press release, Wilson said the recently passed laws will do the following:

• Create 30-year non-parolable offense for trafficking in minors.
• Change the wording of existing human trafficking law to make it easier to prosecute buyers of trafficking victims.
• Hire a full-time attorney to work for South Carolina Legal Services to provide free legal services to trafficking victims for non-criminal matters.

In addition to the discussion about prosecuting traffickers, the meeting also was about how to educate youth about the problem.

“I personally believe that the best way to wage the war on human trafficking, in addition to prosecuting it vigorously, is to raise awareness at the earliest ages that we possibly can,” Wilson said in the release.