An Act to define inducing a minor into prostitution

Lead Sponsor: Representative David M. Rogers

Impetus
In Commonwealth v. Matos, 78 Mass. App. Ct. 578 (2011), the defendant was found guilty at trial of inducing a 16-year-old minor to have sex with him for a fee. On appeal, the defendant argued that the statute prohibiting this conduct required proof that the minor had never previously engaged in prostitution because the statutory language only prohibited a person from inducing a minor “to become" a prostitute. The Appeals Court agreed with this interpretation of the statutory language and overturned the conviction.

Need

• The current statute has been found to only apply when a minor has been induced into prostitution for the very first time. The statutory language has created an unnecessarily limited prohibition.
• The Legislature has recognized the need to protect minor victims from commercial sexual activity as evidenced by its enactment of the human trafficking statutes. This statute which prohibits another aspect of commercial sexual activity should be updated so that it reflects this same concern.

Legislative Fix

• Broadens the statute to allow charges to be brought when a person induces a minor to engage in, agree to engage in or offer to engage in prostitution or in sexual conduct with another for a fee, regardless of their prior history.