“This is important in our fight against human trafficking because it removes a significant barrier to leaving prostitution,” Gov. Jay Inslee said at the bill signing ceremony Tuesday.
Current law doesn’t allow victims to vacate prostitution convictions if other crimes exist on their criminal record, which has proved to be rare in most trafficking cases.
The new measure states any motion filed to vacate a prostitution conviction must prove “by a preponderance of the evidence” that the applicant’s conviction, along with any other crimes committed, was a result of being a “victim of trafficking, promoting prostitution in the first degree or promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor.”
