By james art PHOENIX (AZ Family) — Proposition 313 deals with the prosecution of sex traffickers. If passed, people convicted of child sex trafficking would face life in prison. Republicans largely support this bill, while Democrats express concern about it.
On Thursday night, the America First Policy Institute hosted a town hall event for Prop 313 at Volanti in North Scottsdale. They held a discussion with Arizona Republican Sen. Janae Champ and Caylee Kozak, the namesake of Caylee’s Law, which was passed in 2022 and was intended to protect victims of abuse.
The women on stage discussed why they support the proposed bill and why tougher penalties are needed against sex traffickers in Arizona.
“It’s not the severity of the sentence as a deterrent; this is security, and so let it be known that if you traffic a child in the state of Arizona, you will be sentenced to a natural life sentence without the possibility of parole,” Kozak said.
Senator Champ is one of the mainstays in the state senate.
“If you rape a child in Arizona and they’re under the age of 12 and you cause bodily harm to them, you’re going to spend the rest of your natural life in prison and you’re never going to get out,” Champ said. “It’s a legacy I can be proud of.”
Not everyone agrees with this. Arizona State University professor Dominque Rowe-Sepovtiz is the director of ASU’s sex trafficking study. She says Arizona already has tough penalties for sex trafficking, and this bill, while intended to do good, could do more harm to victims. She says there is more burden on the courts and the victims.
“There has to be a higher standard of proof, the burden of proving that someone is entitled to life sentences is greater. Harder to develop and harder to get convictions.”
Ro-Sepowitz says that if the court needs more evidence, victims of trafficking may have to testify in front of their abusers. This is not something she wants the victims to go through. She also says there are some cases where victims are then forced to traffic others. She wants to see some language about how these cases will be handled.
If you have seen something suspicious or need help in a traffic situation, you can find more information and a hotline here.
See a spelling or grammar mistake in our story? Please click here to report.
Have a photo or video of a breaking news story? Send for us here with a brief description.
Copyright 2024 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.