Belleville Sex Trafficking Lawyer

Sex Trafficking Attorney in Belleville, IL

Sex trafficking, whether under federal or state law, is a very serious charge with potentially dire consequences. Penalties can include decades of prison time, hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines, and lifelong collateral consequences. A strong and aggressive defense with the help of a Belleville sex trafficking lawyer from the very beginning is critical to protecting your rights and your future.

Hire a Sex Trafficking Lawyer

At The Law Office of Jessica Koester, LLC, we represent clients throughout Belleville, Edwardsville, and the Metro-East area facing serious trafficking or sex-related charges under Illinois and federal criminal law.

Attorney Jessica Koester has decades of trial-level experience in criminal law and understands how to protect her clients’ rights, navigate complicated evidence, and defend against high-stakes trafficking charges. Whether the case is at the very earliest investigatory stage or well into federal prosecution, we offer aggressive, strategic, and compassionate representation.

What Is Sex Trafficking?

Sex trafficking is the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person, an adult or minor, for purposes of a commercial sex act (prostitution or other sexual exploitation), through force, fraud, or coercion, or when the person is a minor.

These offenses are aggressively prosecuted under both federal and Illinois law, and the stakes in these cases are high. Sex trafficking is often investigated and prosecuted at the federal level, such as by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), when it involves interstate or foreign commerce, coercion, or when the exploitation involves minors.

Laws

In Illinois, the offense of human trafficking, including sex trafficking, is defined under 720 ILCS 5/10-9. This provision makes it illegal to knowingly recruit, transport, harbor, provide, or obtain a person for the purposes of commercial sexual activity or sexual exploitation, by force, fraud, coercion, or if the victim is a minor.

State laws such as 720 ILCS 5/11-14.4 and related offenses also criminalize profiting from the prostitution or exploitation of minors, and carry the most serious felony designations.

The most applied federal law is 18 U.S.C. § 1591, which prohibits sex trafficking of a child or an adult by force, fraud, or coercion, and covers recruiting, harboring, transporting, providing, or obtaining a person for purposes of a commercial sex act. In fiscal year 2021, 57,287 cases were reported to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. Of these, 93.6% of offenders were men, and 1,062 offenses involved sexual abuse.

How Cases Arise

In many of these cases, there may be an undercover investigation, online or digital discovery, surveillance of a location or person, or a tip to law enforcement. Sex trafficking often involves crossing county, state, or national lines, and investigators may carry out coordinated raids, subpoena social media messages and call logs, or use witness or victim statements.

Phone records, GPS location data, travel records, financial records, digital photographs, video, or recorded statements from alleged victims may also be presented as evidence in court. If the authorities move forward with a federal prosecution, the charges may also be accompanied by mandatory minimums, restitution, forfeiture of trafficking profits, and supervised release terms lasting decades.

Belleville Sex Trafficking Lawyer

Defending against sex trafficking allegations in Belleville requires more than contesting the claims – an effective legal strategy must consider the precise statutory language, rules of evidence, constitutional rights, and possible negotiation or trial tactics.

If you need to hire a sex trafficking lawyer, you deserve a Belleville sex trafficking attorney who is knowledgeable about state and federal trafficking laws, experienced with complex investigations, and well-practiced in high-stakes criminal defense. Contact the team at The Law Office of Jessica Koester, LLC today.