A South Florida woman who survived sex trafficking as a teenager is reacting to Florida’s new law that allows life in prison or even the death penalty for offenders convicted of trafficking children under the age of 12.
Seanna Martinez said she was just 14 years old when she was first groomed by a trafficker.
“We met up at my middle school. That’s where he picked me up and that’s when he took me to his house,” Martinez said.
Court records show the man who trafficked her was later sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.
“I’m a little disheartened. And I think he should have gotten more,” Martinez said.
Survivor supports harsher penalties
The new law, which took effect Wednesday, makes Florida the first state to allow the death penalty for child sex trafficking cases where the victim is under 12.
“For future criminals who wanna commit this act, I think this is a good deterrent for them,” Martinez said.
Still, she said she would like to see the age threshold raised.
“I think that they should raise it up to at least 14 and 15. Just because I know 13 and 14 year olds are still in middle school. They’re still children,” Martinez said.
Florida ranks high in trafficking cases
According to the Florida Alliance to End Human Trafficking, the state ranked third in the nation for human trafficking cases last year.
A report from the Florida Department of Children and Families found that in 2023, more than 1,600 of the 2,100 reported trafficking cases involved children.
Legal challenges expected
Legal experts say the law is likely to face challenges in court.
“Florida is now the first state to make it now a death penalty charge,” said defense attorney Alex Saiz.
Saiz noted that the U.S. Supreme Court has previously ruled the death penalty should not be imposed in cases where the victim did not die.
“Once we expand the death penalty to non-death cases, I think we have an issue of where does the line stop? It’s child sex trafficking, would it be all kinds of trafficking? Is it forced labor?” Saiz said.
Florida executions already at record high
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Florida already allows the death penalty for two other offenses that do not involve homicide.
On top of the new law, Florida has executed a record 13 people this year.
