Mass. Gen. Laws » Part IV Title I Chapter 265
Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 50 (2026)

Trafficking of persons for sexual servitude; trafficking of persons under 18 years for sexual servitude; trafficking by business entities; penalties; tort actions brought by victims

✓ current as of July 2026
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Section 50. (a) Whoever knowingly: (i) subjects, or attempts to subject, or recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides or obtains by any means, or attempts to recruit, entice, harbor, transport, provide or obtain by any means, another person to engage in commercial sexual activity, a sexually-explicit performance or the production of unlawful pornography in violation of chapter 272, or causes a person to engage in commercial sexual activity, a sexually-explicit performance or the production of unlawful pornography in violation of said chapter 272; or (ii) benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, as a result of a violation of clause (i), shall be guilty of the crime of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude and shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than 5 years but not more than 20 years and by a fine of not more than $25,000. Such sentence shall not be reduced to less than 5 years, or suspended, nor shall any person convicted under this section be eligible for probation, parole, work release or furlough or receive any deduction from his sentence for good conduct until he shall have served 5 years of such sentence. No prosecution commenced under this section shall be continued without a finding or placed on file.

(b) Whoever commits the crime of trafficking of persons for sexual servitude upon a person under 18 years of age shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for life or for any term of years, but not less than 5 years. No person convicted under this subsection shall be eligible for probation, parole, work release or furlough or receive any deduction from his sentence for good conduct until he shall have served 5 years of such sentence.

(c) A business entity that commits trafficking of persons for sexual servitude shall be punished by a fine of not more than $1,000,000.

(d) A victim of subsection (a) may bring an action in tort in the superior court in any county wherein a violation of subsection (a) occurred, where the plaintiff resides or where the defendant resides or has a place of business. Any business entity that knowingly aids or is a joint venturer in trafficking of persons for sexual servitude shall be civilly liable for an offense under this section.

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 24 cases (13 in the last 5 years), 2014–2025 · leading case: Commonwealth v. McGhee, 35 N.E.3d 329 (Mass. 2015).
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Commonwealth v. McGhee, 35 N.E.3d 329 (Mass. 2015). · cites it 33× “265, § 22 (a), three counts of trafficking persons for sexual servitude, G. L. c. 265, § 50, and two counts of deriving support from the earnings of a prostitute, G.”
Commonwealth v. Dabney, 90 N.E.3d 750 (Mass. 2018). · cites it 4× “He was indicted on charges of human trafficking, in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 50 ( a ), and deriving support from prostitution, in violation of G.”
Jane Doe No. 1 v. Backpage.Com, LLC, 817 F.3d 12 (1st Cir. 2016). “The first set consists of claims that Backpage engaged in sex trafficking of minors as defined by the TVPRA and its Massachusetts counterpart, the Massachusetts Anti-Human Trafficking and Victim Protection Act of 2010 (MATA), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 50 (a). The second set…”
Commonwealth v. Jones, 117 N.E.3d 702 (Mass. 2019). “**541 *706 A grand jury returned indictments charging the defendant, Dennis Jones, with trafficking a person for sexual servitude, G. L. c. 265, § 50 ( a ), and deriving support from the earnings of a prostitute, G.”
People v. Cardenas, 338 P.3d 430 (Colo. Ct. App. 2014). “tit 17-A, §§ 852-858 (2014); Mass. Gen. Laws. ch. 265, § 50 (2014), Mich.”
Commonwealth v. Brown, 112 N.E.3d 264 (Mass. 2018). “The defendant was also charged with trafficking of a person for sexual servitude in violation of G. L. c. 265, § 50 ( a ), but this charge was dismissed before the first trial, and a nolle prosequi was entered before the second trial.”
Commonwealth v. William a. Cash., 101 Mass. App. Ct. 473 (Mass. App. Ct. 2022). “265, § 18 (b); and trafficking of a person for sexual servitude, G. L. c. 265, § 50. On appeal, the defendant claims error in the trial judge's denial of his for-cause challenge to a juror based on the juror's use of equivocal language concerning her ability to be impartial.”
Doe v. Backpage.com, LLC, 104 F. Supp. 3d 149 (D. Mass. 2015). “§ 1595 (Count I); the Massachusetts Anti-Humán Trafficking and Victim Protection Act of 2010 (MATA), Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, § 50 (Count II); and constitute unfair and deceptive business practices under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Mass.”
Commonwealth v. Barbosa, 91 N.E.3d 682 (Mass. App. Ct. 2018). “On May 7, 2015, as part of that investigation, Detective Ludwik Bartkiewicz, along with State and Federal law enforcement officers, went to the Park Plaza Hotel (hotel) in Boston to locate the person who had posted the advertisement on Backpage.”
Commonwealth v. Brendan J. Garafalo (& Nine Companion Cases) (Mass. 2025). · cites it 15× “exual services ostensibly from an adult sex worker purporting to be acting independently, selects from among the types of sexual services offered by the sex worker, agrees to pay the price set by the sex worker for the selected services, and goes to a location determined by the…”
Commonwealth v. Duntin, 103 N.E.3d 771 (Mass. App. Ct. 2018). · cites it 10× “After a jury trial, the defendant, Ryan Duntin, was convicted of two counts of trafficking persons for sexual servitude, see G. L. c. 265, § 50( a )(ii), and two counts of deriving support from prostitution, G.”
Commonwealth v. Garafalo (Mass. App. Ct. 2024). · cites it 9× “Massachusetts G. L. c. 265, § 50, the so- called "human trafficking" statute, enacted in 2011, makes it a crime for a person to (among other things) "attempt[] to recruit, entice .”
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