Ocean County Leader

Federal prosecutors have used a landmark law authored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-Manchester) to bring sex trafficking and forced labor charges against Sean “Diddy” Combs. The rapper and music mogul is accused of leading a criminal enterprise that facilitated his abuse and exploitation of women, protected his reputation, and concealed his conduct for over a decade.

Under Smith’s Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (Public Law 106-386), Combs could face a maximum sentence of life in prison and a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years for sex trafficking by force, fraud, or coercion.

At a press conference announcing the charges, Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, highlighted the severe penalties provided by Smith’s law. He stated, “the sex trafficking conduct carries some significant penalties, and we are gratified that we were able to bring that charge.”

Smith has authored five laws to combat human trafficking. He said, “my Trafficking Victims Protection Act created a new whole-of-government domestic and international strategy to combat sex and labor trafficking and established numerous new programs to protect victims, prosecute traffickers, and to the extent possible, prevent it in the first place.”

“The legislation had its naysayers at the time,” Smith added, “but the law has proven critical in locking up criminals that abuse and traffic in women and children.”

“Thousands of human traffickers have been and continue to be prosecuted and jailed pursuant to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act,” Smith noted. This includes several charges brought against Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs as well as all charges against Jeffrey Epstein and convictions involving actress Allison Mack.

Smith emphasized that reforms included in his Trafficking Victims Protection Act represented a “sea change” to the criminal code. Portions of this code are cited by federal prosecutors in their indictment against Combs.

According to the unsealed indictment, Combs “knowingly recruited, enticed, harbored, transported, provided, obtained, advertised, maintained, patronized, and solicited by any means a person.” This was done with knowledge or reckless disregard that force or coercion would be used to cause engagement in commercial sex acts.

“One of the reforms established by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act included treating as a victim—and not a perpetrator—anyone exploited by a commercial sex act who had not attained the age of 18,” Smith said. This also applies to anyone older where there was an element of force or fraud.

“Additionally,” Smith continued,“my law radically reformed the U.S. criminal code to authorize asset confiscation and jail sentences of up to life imprisonment.” Federal prosecutors have included forfeiture of Combs’ property used in committing or facilitating sex trafficking in their indictment.