Criminal Justice (Human Trafficking)

SB 1697 - This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Anti-Epstein Child Protection Act". This act provides that the death penalty may be sought for the offenses of statutory rape in the first degree and sexual trafficking of a child in the first degree. If the death penalty is not waived by the state, the trial shall proceed in two stages before the same trier of fact. In the first stage, the trier shall determine whether the defendant is guilty. In the second stage, if the trier found the defendant guilty of statutory rape in the first degree or sexual trafficking of a child in the first degree, the trier shall assess and determine the punishment. If the trier finds by a preponderance of the evidence that the defendant is intellectually disabled, there is a mitigation of punishment, or the trier decides not to declare a punishment of death, then a punishment at life imprisonment without eligibility for parole shall be declared. If the trier is a jury and it is unable to decide upon the punishment, the judge shall determine the punishment. This act shall only apply to offenses committed on or after August 28, 2026. This act is identical to SB 196 (2025) and SB 951 (2024). TRISTAN BENSON, JR.

SB 1365 - This act requires employees of lodging establishments and operators of short-term rental properties to receive annual human trafficking awareness training. The operator of the lodging establishment or short-term rental property shall be responsible for maintaining records of the training for periods of time as described in the act. Further, each operator shall establish procedures and policies for the reporting of suspected human trafficking to the National Human Trafficking Hotline or a local law enforcement agency. JIM ERTLE

HB 3429 creates a dedicated office within Missouri’s Department of Public Safety focused on addressing disparities in cases involving missing and murdered African American women and girls. The office will collect and analyze data on missing persons, homicides, Amber alerts, and trafficking cases involving this group, comparing outcomes to other demographics. It will develop recommendations for legislative, agency, and community actions to improve responses, particularly regarding labor trafficking, sex trafficking, and domestic violence intersections. The office must report annual data and outcomes to the legislature by January 15 each year, including case statistics and analysis of justice system responses. This bill directly affects Missouri law enforcement agencies, state departments, and the communities impacted by these cases.

HB 2450 decriminalizes specific acts related to prostitution by removing criminal penalties for individuals engaging in consensual sex work, while establishing a new offense of "commercial sexual exploitation" targeting those who profit from or control others in sex work. The bill directly affects people engaging in certain sex work activities (no longer facing criminal charges) and those exploiting others through commercial sex operations. Key mechanisms include repealing existing prostitution-related statutes and replacing them with new definitions and penalties, such as criminalizing commercial sexual exploitation (e.g., profiting from others' sex work) while removing criminal liability for the individuals performing the acts. The law clarifies terms like "commercial sexual exploitation" and "sexually oriented business" to define the scope of the new offense.

HB 2109 proposes creating "family justice centers" that bring together multiple service providers - like law enforcement, medical staff, victim advocates, and social workers - into one location to support victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, child abuse, elder abuse, and human trafficking. These centers must maintain strict confidentiality for all victim information, cannot require victims to cooperate with law enforcement to access services, and protect staff from liability when acting in good faith. The bill also adds criminal penalties (up to a class D felony) for tampering with victims or witnesses, including threats, deception, or offering benefits to prevent reporting or prosecution. It affects victims of specified crimes and the organizations providing their services.

HB 2529 updates state laws to explicitly include artificially generated visual depictions of minors in the definition of child pornography. The bill expands existing prohibitions to cover digital images or computer-generated content that are indistinguishable from real minors, morphed from real images, or created without actual minor involvement. This directly affects individuals or entities creating, distributing, or promoting such AI-generated content that mimics real children in sexually explicit contexts. The law aims to close a loophole by treating these digital fakes as equivalent to actual child sexual abuse material under current statutes.

HB 1946 replaces multiple existing Missouri laws with 42 new sections to strengthen anti-trafficking efforts. It creates a "Committee on Sex and Human Trafficking Training" composed of representatives from state agencies (like the attorney general and public safety), child advocacy groups, and victim services. The committee will develop annual training guidelines and produce a digital training platform for required anti-trafficking education, targeting professions such as law enforcement and child advocates. This initiative is scheduled to begin on January 1, 2027, and end on December 31, 2031.

HB 2418 creates the "Missouri Crime Victims Fund" to provide dedicated funding for crime victim services. The fund, managed by the state treasurer, accepts state appropriations and donations from public or private sources. It ensures leftover funds at the end of each biennium stay in the fund (not revert to general revenue) and requires all money to be used by local organizations eligible for federal Victims of Crime Act grants, for the same purposes those federal grants cover. This bill directly affects Missouri organizations providing victim assistance services by aligning state funding with existing federal grant requirements.

HB 1872, the "Missouri Survivors' Act," allows courts to reduce sentencing levels for individuals charged with crimes who were survivors of domestic abuse by an intimate partner or family member. If proven with documented evidence (such as court records, medical reports, or witness statements), the court must consider the abuse as a mitigating factor, lowering felony classifications (e.g., a Class A felony becomes a Class B). This applies to offenses committed before November 1, 2026, and enables eligible individuals already incarcerated to request resentencing starting November 1, 2026. The law directly affects survivors facing criminal charges whose domestic abuse history contributed to their offense.

HB 1678 requires hotels, motels, vacation rentals (including those listed on platforms like Airbnb), and similar lodging establishments with five or more guest rooms to provide human trafficking awareness training to all employees. The training must cover identifying trafficking signs, distinguishing labor/sex trafficking in hospitality settings, reporting procedures to the national hotline or local law enforcement, and contact information for support. Operators must provide initial training within 180 days of hire or listing, conduct annual refresher training by December 31st, and maintain training records for one year after employment ends. This bill directly affects all lodging businesses and short-term rental operators in the state, aiming to equip staff to recognize and report potential trafficking incidents. The bill is currently pending (prefiled and read first/second time in 2026).