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Coakley Pressing Anti-Human Trafficking Initiative

BOSTON (AP) - Attorney General Martha Coakley is pressing lawmakers on an initiative to crack down on human trafficking in Massachusetts.

On Tuesday, Coakley joins Suffolk County District Attorney Daniel Conley at a Statehouse press conference to highlight the measure.

Coakley has filed a bill that would establish the state-level crimes of human trafficking in labor and sex and create an Attorney General-led task force to study the illegal trade. The bill also increases the penalties for so-called "Johns" to address the demand side of human trafficking. Massachusetts is one of four states without a state crime of human trafficking on the books.

Conley backs separate legislation designed to shift the focus from prosecuting teens involved in the sex trade to giving them the services they need to escape prostitution.

(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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