FL H1017

Restructures human trafficking offenses under s. 787.06 to distinguish between child and adult victims and between labor/services and commercial sexual activity, with penalties ranging from first-degree felonies up to life felonies — including life imprisonment for commercial sexual exploitation of children under 18 (and enhanced for children under 15) — while eliminating the defense of ignorance of a victim's age

Eliminates the statute of limitations for human trafficking prosecutions, effective for offenses not already time-barred as of October 1, 2014

Declares legislative intent that minors cannot consent to prostitution, repeals three prostitution statutes formerly used to prosecute trafficking of minors (ss. 796.03, 796.035, 796.036), and redirects prosecution of adults who exploit minors to human trafficking, sexual battery, and child abuse statutes

Creates a new second-degree felony for permanently branding a human trafficking victim, and upgrades the penalty for a parent or guardian who sells or transfers custody of a minor for trafficking purposes from a first-degree felony to a life felony

Significantly increases penalties for prostitution-related offenses: deriving support from prostitution rises to a second-degree felony (first offense) through a first-degree felony with a mandatory minimum 10-year sentence (third offense); buyers, solicitors, procurers, and operators face third-degree felony penalties on first offense escalating to first-degree felony on third offense, with a $5,000 criminal penalty funding drug court programs and DCF safe houses

Expands criminal record expunction eligibility for human trafficking victims under s. 943.0583 to cover arrests and filed charges — not just convictions — for offenses committed while the person was a victim, regardless of case disposition, with expunged convictions deemed vacated due to substantive defect

Prohibits employment of persons under 18 in adult theaters, requires operators to verify and retain age-identification records for all employees and contractors, and authorizes unannounced government inspections during operating hours

Updates the offense severity ranking chart to reflect restructured human trafficking penalties across levels 5 through 10 and adds new human trafficking subsections — particularly s. 787.06(3)(g) and (3)(h) — to sexual predator and sexual offender registration requirements throughout Florida law

Amends cross-references in more than a dozen statutes — including RICO definitions, sexual offender registration, administrative probation ineligibility, kidnapping aggravators, and criminal record sealing provisions — to conform with the repeal of ss. 796.03, 796.035, and 796.036 and the restructured trafficking framework

The act takes effect October 1, 2014