18 U.S.C. Chapter 77: Peonage, Slavery, and Trafficking in Persons

Federal Offenses and Remedies Under Chapter 77

Chapter 77 of Title 18 of the United States Code deals with peonage, slavery, involuntary servitude, forced labor, and trafficking in people. Peonage is compulsory work that is linked to a debt. Other sections of Chapter 77 deal with behaviors such as using coercion to obtain labor and recruiting someone for commercial sex under conditions that are covered by federal law.

The chapter defines several distinct offenses and also addresses restitution, forfeiture, and civil remedies.

The section number on a federal indictment identifies which provision the government is invoking and which facts it has to prove.

Sex Trafficking Under 18 U.S.C. § 1591

The law codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1591 addresses certain types of commercial sex acts, i.e., sex acts where one party provides something of value to another. Subsection (a)(1) addresses knowing acts of recruiting, harboring, advertising, patronizing, or soliciting an individual in or affecting interstate or foreign commerce, or within the special maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States.

Subsection (a)(2) separately addresses knowingly receiving a financial or other benefit from participating in a venture that has violated subsection (a)(1). To participate in a violation means to knowingly assist, support, or facilitate that violation.

The government will typically have to establish that a defendant either knew or was reckless as to whether force, threats of force, fraud, or coercion would be employed to produce the commercial sex act. However, the “reckless disregard” option is not available if the conduct at issue is advertising. If a person is under 18 years old, prosecutors may go forward without having to demonstrate these methods so long as all other required elements of the statute are satisfied.

Pursuant to subsection (c), in some prosecutions brought pursuant to subsection (a)(1), a reasonable opportunity to view the individual eliminates the requirement to demonstrate knowledge or reckless disregard of age.

Subsection (b) sets two prison ranges for a conviction under subsection (a):

• 15 years to life if the offense was carried out through force, threats of force, fraud, or coercion, or if the person was under 14 when the offense occurred.
• 10 years to life if the person was 14 through 17 and the offense was carried out without those means.

Subsection (d) separately penalizes obstruction of enforcement under § 1591, with a possible prison term of up to 25 years. For the defense and court process in Nevada, see our guide to federal sex crimes charges.

Forced Labor and Labor Trafficking (Sections 1589-1590)

Section 1589 prohibits knowingly providing or obtaining labor or services by means of force, restraint, threat of serious harm, or abuse of the legal process. In addition, Section 1589 prohibits engaging in a scheme designed to cause a person to believe that if they refuse to perform work they will suffer serious harm or restraint.

Serious harm can be non-physical (e.g., financial or reputational) as long as it meets the statutory definition. Section 1590 is different than Section 1589. Section 1590 applies to anyone who knowingly recruits, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains another person for labor or services that are in violation of Chapter 77. A charge can be brought under Section 1590 based upon either recruiting or harboring; therefore, Section 1590 can be applied even if there was no travel involved.

Other Chapter 77 Provisions

• §§ 1581–1584. Peonage, vessels used for the slave trade, enticement into slavery, and sale into involuntary servitude.
• §§ 1585–1588. Conduct involving the seizure, detention, transportation, or sale of enslaved people, including service on slave-trade vessels, holding enslaved people aboard a vessel, and transporting them out of the United States.
• §§ 1589–1590. Forced labor and trafficking for labor or services that violate the chapter.
• §§ 1592 and 1597. Separate document offenses. Section 1592 addresses passports, immigration papers, or government identification in specified trafficking or forced-labor circumstances. Section 1597 addresses immigration documents in the circumstances defined in that provision.
• §§ 1593 and 1593A. Mandatory restitution and criminal liability for knowingly benefiting from participation in a venture under the conditions set out in § 1593A.
• § 1594. Attempt and conspiracy rules for specified offenses, along with forfeiture. Conspiracy to violate § 1591 has a separate penalty rule in subsection (c).
• Sections 1595-1596. Section 1595 gives victims the right to recover damages and reasonable attorneys’ fees. If a victim has filed a lawsuit based on this section, then that lawsuit will be stayed until after the completion of any criminal proceedings related to those same events; however, if the victim is the claimant, then the stay does not apply. Section 1595A also provides authority to the U.S. Attorney General to file civil injunctions. Section 1596 provides federal jurisdiction over certain crimes committed outside of the United States as long as they meet specific requirements.

Enticement Into Slavery Under 18 U.S.C. § 1583

Section 1583 illustrates why the specific charge matters. It covers kidnapping or carrying someone away with the intent that the person be sold into involuntary servitude or held in slavery. It also covers inducing someone to board a vessel or go elsewhere with the intent that the person be enslaved, held in slavery, or sent abroad for that purpose. Its obstruction provision applies to enforcement of § 1583 itself.

The maximum sentence for a standard violation of § 1583(a) is 30 years in prison. If the violation causes death, involves kidnapping, attempted kidnapping, aggravated sexual abuse, attempted aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill, then subsection (b) allows for a sentence of up to life in prison.