Case Explained: State needs to protect, not punish, human trafficking survivors, legislative panel told • Nevada Current – Legal Perspective

Katheryn Hickman, a public defender with the Washoe County Public Defender’s Office, recalled just a few years ago representing two teenagers forced into sex trafficking who faced an uphill battle in courts and faced prosecution for crimes related to coercion.

The story of her two clients is emblematic of the issues survivors of sex trafficking caught up in the criminal legal system in Nevada often face, she told state lawmakers on Tuesday. 

Both girls, one 18 and another 19 at the time of their arrest in 2020, shared similar backstories of previously residing in foster care, experiencing sexual and physical abuse, and eventually aging out of the foster care system. 

As teens, they each met an older male, started a romantic relationship, and were ultimately coerced into sex trafficking. Eventually, both were arrested and prosecuted for crimes related to their trafficking. 

“During the time that they were sex trafficked, both of them committed offenses as part of the victimization,” Hickman said. “They held guns. They held drugs. What ultimately brought them into the legal system was that they helped girls who were working under the same trafficker post ads …  they arrange dates, and they helped take them to dates.”

Their stories played out in open court and “ detailed a life of abuse that both women had suffered,” she said.

When Hickman requested the teens, neither of whom had a criminal history, go through a diversion program they were denied. They have both finished probation recently, she told the legislative interim committee on Tuesday this week.. 

“They did not violate their probation, but because they were not able to get diversion for the crimes that were committed as part of their own victimization, they both will have serious criminal history for the rest of their lives,” Hickman said.

Nevada has earned an F grade in protections for human trafficking survivors on a report card prepared by the Polaris Project advocacy organization.

Senate Concurrent Resolution 3, passed during the special legislation session in November, mandates state lawmakers to conduct an interim study on human trafficking and offer policies that could be taken up in the 2027 Legislation Session. 

Public defenders and criminal defense attorneys from Southern and Northern Nevada argued during the committee meeting on Tuesday that the state needs to pass laws protecting survivors who are coming forward and have been caught up in the legal system. 

“Nevada ranks low primarily not because of a lack of criminalizing traffickers, but because of a lack of protections for survivors charged with related crimes,” said Marissa Crook with the Washoe County Public Defenders Office. “Under Nevada laws, there are several key gaps that fail survivors who are criminalized for acts committed as a result of force, fraud or coercion.” 

Lawmakers were urged to consider passing protective measure including safe harbor laws, which protect survivors from prosecution and direct them toward protective services.

Other states have already implemented various policies to aid survivors including sealing records when crimes were committed as a result of being trafficked or offering restitution, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. 

A policy associate from NCSL briefed lawmakers Tuesday about on legislation that has been adopted across the country. 

There are 40 states that allow a judge to dismiss a case if they find that it was committed under the duress of human trafficking. Nevada isn’t one of them. 

While Nevada has adopted safe harbor laws for children forced into sex trafficking, it hasn’t been expanded to adults. 

During the 2025 regular legislative session, lawmakers considered a bill that would have provided protections for people involved in sex work to safely report crimes without consequence, said Barb Brents, a UNLV sociology professor emeritus who also spoke at Tuesday’s committee meeting.

Brents’ surveys of sex workers in Nevada found nearly all lack confidence in the criminal legal system and feel law enforcement doesn’t take sexual assault allegations seriously.

Assembly Bill 209, sponsored by Democratic Assemblymember David Orentlicher in the 2025 session, sought to grant sex workers immunity from criminal liability from prostitution-related offenses if they called 911 seeking medical assistance.

The bill originally included broader border protections for sex workers who called the police if they were victims or witnesses of crime, including assault or human trafficking, but was amended in an attempt to appease law enforcement. . 

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Nevada Sheriffs’ and Chiefs’ Association still opposed the bill.

AB 209 passed both chambers in a mostly party-line vote with Republican state Sen. Robin Titus joining Democrats. 

It was vetoed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo. 

In his veto message, Lombardo said the legislation would codify mistrust of law enforcement “by assuming that sex workers fear prosecution more than they trust officers to prioritize their safety and the investigation of violent crimes.”

The legislation should be reintroduced when the Legislature convenes for its next regular session in February, Brents said.

“My hope is that we can work better with police and other groups so that we can have a truly effective law that’s similar to other states,” she said.” 

Many of the protections being advocated during the committee meeting dealt with those who are already in the system.  

That included a proposal to amend state law to “expand judicial discretion for sentencing” in cases dealing with human trafficking and coereced sex work that “go beyond sentencing guidelines that we have right now in statute,” said Paloma Guerrero, with the Clark County Public Defenders office.

There should also be protections to ensure survivors who testify won’t have to do it publicly, she said. 

There have been clients who want to come forward but “don’t feel comfortable whether they have a fear that their abuser is going to be in court,” Guerrero said.

If an attorney requests for hearings to be sealed, a judge should honor that request, she added.  

While Nevada needs to bolster protections for survivors caught up in the criminal legal system, the state needs to look at the systems that make people vulnerable to human trafficking, Brents said. 

“​​People most vulnerable to trafficking or exploitation are usually dealing with basic survival problems first,” she said. “They need safe housing, access to food and health care, job training and economic stability. When we look at what actually helps people exit or prevent exploitative situations, these are the most basic.”