TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) - A new law will keep children under 18 from being arrested in Florida for prostitution.
House Bill 545 prohibits people under 18 from being prosecuted for prostitution and makes it clear that sexually exploiting a child in prostitution should be viewed as human trafficking.
The measure also planned to increase the penalty for people who knowingly rent space used for prostitution. The new law completes the Safe Harbor Movement of 2012 that gave law enforcement the choice of placing kids in delinquency or dependency proceedings.
Terry Coonan, executive director for Florida State's Center for the Advancement of Human Rights said that the most important take away is that these children are not criminals.
"We made once and for all clear that, children are going to be looked at as victims, children will never be looked at as a criminal. We should never again use the term child prostitute, if we ever even need to say it; it's a prostituted child...that's a crime that's been committed against that child," said Coonan.
He said that the next step is to provide funds and programs for these children once they've been encountered.
