Capital Human Trafficking of Vulnerable Persons for Sexual Exploitation

Created a new capital felony offense for human trafficking of vulnerable persons (children under 12 or mentally incapacitated individuals) for sexual exploitation.

Established death penalty proceedings including jury sentencing recommendations, aggravating factors, and victim impact evidence for the new capital offense.

Expanded sexual predator designation criteria to include convictions of the new human trafficking capital felony.

Added mandatory HIV testing requirements for offenders convicted of human trafficking offenses.

Set effective date of October 1, 2025 for the new capital felony provisions.

Created a new capital felony offense for knowingly initiating or supervising ventures that subject children under 12 or mentally incapacitated persons to human trafficking for sexual exploitation.

Established separate death penalty proceedings with specific jury requirements, including unanimous findings of at least two aggravating factors and a supermajority vote (8 out of 12 jurors) for death sentences.

Mandated mandatory HIV testing for offenders convicted of capital human trafficking of vulnerable persons, with results inadmissible in criminal proceedings.

Updated consent requirements for pelvic examinations during criminal investigations, removing consent requirements for cases involving child abuse or neglect under the new trafficking provisions.

Revised parental rights termination and visitation provisions to consider sexual predator designations and registration requirements when determining best interests of children.

Required law enforcement agencies to contact the Department of Corrections when investigating or arresting persons for capital human trafficking of vulnerable persons.

Expanded sexual predator designation criteria to include capital human trafficking of vulnerable persons for sexual exploitation, requiring registration and community notification.

Added specific definition of 'sexual exploitation' as any violation of s. 794.011, excluding s. 794.011(10) (statutory rape of a child under 13).

Modified admissibility rules for memorialized confessions in sexual abuse cases, allowing them without corpus delicti proof when the victim was under 12, physically helpless, or mentally incapacitated.

Set effective date for new capital human trafficking provisions as October 1, 2025, with automatic review of death sentences within 2 years.

Created new capital felony offense for human trafficking of vulnerable persons for sexual exploitation, specifically targeting victims under 12 years of age or those who are mentally defective or mentally incapacitated.

Established death penalty procedures including mandatory jury sentencing proceedings, written court orders, automatic Supreme Court review within 2 years, and specific aggravating/mitigating factor requirements.

Added new definition of 'sexual exploitation' to the human trafficking statute and created specific definition for 'capital human trafficking of vulnerable persons for sexual exploitation'.

Added new aggravating factors for death penalty including prior convictions for human trafficking, sexual predator designations, and victim vulnerability due to age or disability.

Updated sexual offender registration requirements to include the new capital human trafficking offense and expanded victim impact evidence rules for death penalty proceedings.

Set effective date of October 1, 2025, and established 45-day notice requirement for prosecutors seeking death penalty and 30-day deadline for court to issue death sentence order.