Louisiana AG joins opposition to weakening human trafficking, sexual abuse laws

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry announced Dec. 13 he has joined 35 of his colleagues from across the country in urging the American Law Institute to reject proposed changes to the Model Penal Code.

According to a news release from Landry's office, if enacted, these changes would weaken the ability of states to prosecute sexual assault, abuse, and exploitation and trafficking crimes; and also restrict the ability of law enforcement to protect the public from recidivist behavior.

“Sex crimes are horrific offenses that can leave long-lasting, harmful effects on victims, their families, their friends, and our communities,” Landry stated in the release. “These dangerous proposals present a direct threat to public safety; we cannot allow criminals to have more protection than the victims they traumatize.”

In a letter to the ALI, Landry and his peers wrote: “As Attorneys General, we urge the ALI to consider the danger the proposed changes would pose to the public, especially children, and abandon its plans to amend this article... The revisions contemplated fail to treat sex predators appropriately and would provide them more freedom to commit these heinous crimes again, putting the citizens we represent at greater risk of becoming victims.”

Landry was joined by the Attorneys General of Mississippi, Hawaii, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Guam, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virgin Islands, Virginia, and West Virginia.