Human trafficking is also heavily addressed within the Alabama Code. Human trafficking in the second degree under §13A-6-153 is classified as a Class B felony, punishable by 2-20 years’ imprisonment. The offense requires an offender to knowingly benefit from participation in a venture for the purpose of servitude, or if an offender knowingly obtains control over another person for the purpose of servitude.

To reach human trafficking in the first degree under §13A-6-152, the offender must either knowingly subject another person to servitude, knowingly gain control over a minor for the purpose of sexual servitude or give monetary consideration to engage in a sex act with the trafficked minor. Human trafficking in the first degree is a Class A felony, carrying a sentence of 10-99 years’ imprisonment. Recently passed legislation, going into effect on October 1, 2024, will raise the penalty to a mandatory life sentence when the victim is a minor.

Alabama law also includes several provisions designed to protect victims of human trafficking. §13A-6-180 requires certain establishments to post the National Human Trafficking Resource Center Hotline penalized by only a warning for the first violation, and up to $50 in fines for each subsequent violation. This statute applies to any establishment that holds a liquor license, holds a food or beverage permit, is a hotel that has been cited as a nuisance, is a massage parlor that has been cited as a nuisance or where an employee has been cited as unlicensed, travel hubs, and entertainment facilities featuring nudity. The Alabama legislature also passed the Alabama Human Trafficking Safe Harbor Act in 2016.

This Act, spanning from §13A-6-180 to §13A-6-184, addresses the relationship between human trafficking and prostitution. Under the act, courts have the authority to conduct an inquiry into a person’s access to resources, care, shelter, or other aid following an arrest for prostitution. In the case of State ex rel. Marshall v. TY Green’s Massage Therapy, Inc., the Court denied a preliminary injunction against a massage parlor accused to be in violation of Alabama human trafficking statutes.

The Court noted that the State had failed to prove by evidence that the owners were aware of any sexual activity in the massage parlor and had also failed to prove violations in the transportation, housing, and payment of the employees. Without sufficient evidence supporting the charge for human trafficking, an injunction could not be granted.

Alabama law also aims to criminalize certain actions against the elderly, with statutes specifically covering elder abuse and neglect, as well as financial exploitation. These charges are separated into degrees, distinguishing varying levels of severity. Elder abuse and neglect in the third degree, governed by §13A-6-194, is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $6,000 in fines.

The crime of elder abuse and neglect in the third degree requires the offender to either recklessly abuse or neglect an elderly person to the point of causing physical injury, or recklessly emotionally abuse an elderly person. The offense rises to elder abuse and neglect in the second degree under §13A-6-193 when either the abuse causing injury is intentional, the abuse is reckless and the injury is serious, or when the abuse occurs after a previous conviction for elder abuse and neglect in the third degree. Elder abuse and neglect in the second degree is a Class B felony, with associated penalties of 2-20 years’ imprisonment.

The offense becomes elder abuse and neglect in the first degree, a class A felony governed by §13A-6-192, when the offender is intentionally abusive and causes serious physical injury. As a Class A felony, the subsequent sentence for an offender is 10-99 years’ imprisonment. Financial exploitation of an elderly person is entirely dependent on the value of the property taken. Financial exploitation of an elderly person in the third degree under §13A-6-197 covers property valued at or below $500. In the third degree, the offense is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail and up to $6,000 in fine. §13A-6-196 covers the offense in the second degree, which is a Class C felony punishable by 1-10 years’ imprisonment.

For an offense to constitute financial exploitation of an elderly person in the second degree, the value of the property must be between $500 and $2,500. When the value of the property exceeds $2,500, the offense becomes financial exploitation of an elderly person in the first degree. In the first degree, financial exploitation of an elderly person is a Class B felony, carrying a sentence of 2-20 years’ imprisonment. The case of Moore v. State offers insight onto the application of elder abuse statutes. In Moore, the Court was unable to sustain the defendant’s conviction for elder abuse in the first degree because “serious physical injury” is a necessary element of the offense and was not proven.

If you are accused of Human Trafficking or Elder Abuse in Alabama, contact Joe Ingram Law, LLC or Joseph A. Ingram at joeingramlaw.com or 205-335-2640. Get Relief Get Results.