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Ohio Revised Code

Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.32 (2026)

Trafficking in persons

✓ current as of May 2026
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Effective:
September 13, 2022
Latest Legislation:
House Bill 427 - 134th General Assembly
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(A) No person shall knowingly recruit, lure, entice, isolate, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain, or knowingly attempt to recruit, lure, entice, isolate, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain, another person if either of the following applies:

(1) The offender knows that the other person will be subjected to involuntary servitude or be compelled to engage in sexual activity for hire, engage in a performance that is obscene, sexually oriented, or nudity oriented, or be a model or participant in the production of material that is obscene, sexually oriented, or nudity oriented.

(2) The other person is less than eighteen years of age or is a person with a developmental disability whom the offender knows or has reasonable cause to believe is a person with a developmental disability, and either the offender knows that the other person will be subjected to involuntary servitude or the offender's knowing recruitment, luring, enticement, isolation, harboring, transportation, provision, obtaining, or maintenance of the other person or knowing attempt to recruit, lure, entice, isolate, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain the other person is for any of the following purposes:

(a) For the other person to engage in sexual activity for hire with one or more third parties;

(b) To engage in a performance for hire that is obscene, sexually oriented, or nudity oriented;

(c) To be a model or participant for hire in the production of material that is obscene, sexually oriented, or nudity oriented.

(B) For a prosecution under division (A)(1) of this section, the element "compelled" does not require that the compulsion be openly displayed or physically exerted. The element "compelled" has been established if the state proves that the offender overcame the victim's will by force, fear, duress, intimidation, or fraud, by furnishing or offering a controlled substance to the victim, or by manipulating the victim's controlled substance addiction.

(C) In a prosecution under this section, proof that the defendant engaged in sexual activity with any person, or solicited sexual activity with any person, whether or not for hire, without more, does not constitute a violation of this section.

(D) A prosecution for a violation of this section does not preclude a prosecution of a violation of any other section of the Revised Code. One or more acts, a series of acts, or a course of behavior that can be prosecuted under this section or any other section of the Revised Code may be prosecuted under this section, the other section of the Revised Code, or both sections. However, if an offender is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section and also is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of section 2907.21 of the Revised Code based on the same conduct involving the same victim that was the basis of the violation of this section, or is convicted of or pleads guilty to any other violation of Chapter 2907. of the Revised Code based on the same conduct involving the same victim that was the basis of the violation of this section, the two offenses are allied offenses of similar import under section 2941.25 of the Revised Code.

(E) Whoever violates this section is guilty of trafficking in persons, a felony of the first degree. For a violation committed prior to March 22, 2019, notwithstanding the range of definite terms set forth in division (A)(1)(b) of section 2929.14 of the Revised Code, the court shall sentence the offender to a definite prison term of ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen years. For a violation committed on or after March 22, 2019, notwithstanding the range of minimum terms set forth in division (A)(1)(a) of section 2929.14 of the Revised Code, the court shall sentence the offender to an indefinite prison term pursuant to that division, with a minimum term under that sentence of ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, or fifteen years.

(F) As used in this section:

(1) "Person with a developmental disability" means a person whose ability to resist or consent to an act is substantially impaired because of a mental or physical condition or because of advanced age.

(2) "Sexual activity for hire," "performance for hire," and "model or participant for hire" mean an implicit or explicit agreement to provide sexual activity, engage in an obscene, sexually oriented, or nudity oriented performance, or be a model or participant in the production of obscene, sexually oriented, or nudity oriented material, whichever is applicable, in exchange for anything of value paid to any of the following:

(a) The person engaging in such sexual activity, performance, or modeling or participation;

(b) Any person who recruits, lures, entices, isolates, harbors, transports, provides, obtains, or maintains, or attempts to recruit, lure, entice, isolate, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain the person described in division (F)(2)(a) of this section;

(c) Any person associated with a person described in division (F)(2)(a) or (b) of this section.

(3) "Material that is obscene, sexually oriented, or nudity oriented" and "performance that is obscene, sexually oriented, or nudity oriented" have the same meanings as in section 2929.01 of the Revised Code.

(4) "Third party" means, with respect to conduct described in division (A)(2)(a) of this section, any person other than the offender.

Last updated July 14, 2022 at 12:38 PM

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 61 cases (33 in the last 5 years), 1966–2026 · leading case: Jacobson v. Kaforey (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 8434 (Ohio 2016).
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Jacobson v. Kaforey (Slip Opinion), 2016 Ohio 8434 (Ohio 2016). · cites it 8× “51(A) (“A victim of a violation of section 2905.32 [trafficking in persons] of the Revised Code has and may commence a civil cause of action for compensatory and punitive damages against the trafficker for harm that resulted from the violation of section 2905.”
State v. Brown, 2019 Ohio 1235 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). · cites it 13× “” However, R.C. 2905.32 does not contain the element of “force”; it only requires the act of “compulsion.”
Ross v. Jenkins, 325 F. Supp. 3d 1141 (D. Kan. 2018). · cites it 6× “Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.32, in turn, makes it unlawful to "knowingly recruit, lure, entice, harbor, transport, provide, obtain or maintain" or knowingly attempt any of those actions where "[t]he offender knows that the other person will be subjected to involuntary servitude[.”
State v. Suder, 2021 Ohio 465 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). · cites it 3× “This single charge was in violation of R.C. 2905.32(A)(1). Pursuant to that statute: (A) No person shall knowingly recruit, lure, entice, isolate, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain, or knowingly attempt to recruit, lure, entice, isolate, harbor, transport, provide,…”
State v. Barron, 2022 Ohio 102 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). · cites it 5× “22[A][2]), is a more specific offense than the offense of trafficking in persons (R.C. 2905.32[A][1]), and that pursuant to R.”
State v. Glover, 2024 Ohio 5195 (Ohio 2024). · cites it 2× “11 (aggravated burglary); R.C. 2905.32 (trafficking in persons); 2907.”
State v. Brooks, 2020 Ohio 4123 (Ohio Ct. App. 2020). · cites it 4× “2019 CA 0104 16 the criminal offense with which the offender is charged or that, at the time of committing that offense, the offender had a mental illness, was a person with intellectual disability, or was a victim of a violation of section 2905.32 of the Revised Code and that…”
Steinberg v. Brown, 321 F. Supp. 741 (N.D. Ohio 1970). · cites it 5× “It is a crime to sell or give away drugs for procuring abortion or miscarriage, O.R.C. § 2905.32, or to advertise the same, O.”
In re T.G., 2015 Ohio 5330 (Ohio Ct. App. 2015). · cites it 4× “If the court finds the existence of any one of the following factors, “the court shall enter a finding that the child cannot be placed with either parent within a reasonable time or should not be placed with either parent”: “(7) The parent has been convicted of or pleaded guilty…”
In re D.M., 2016 Ohio 1450 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016). · cites it 2× “06 of the Revised Code or under an existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to an offense described in those sections and the victim of the offense is the child, a sibling of the child, or another child who…”
In Re M.h.-l.t., 2017 Ohio 7825 (Ohio Ct. App. 2017). · cites it 2× “06 of the Revised Code or under an existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to an offense described in those sections and the victim of the offense is the child, a sibling of the child, or another child who…”
In re S.S., 2018 Ohio 1349 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018). · cites it 2× “06 of the Revised Code or under an existing or former law of this state, any other state, or the United States that is substantially equivalent to an offense described in those sections and the victim of the offense is the child, a sibling of the child, or another child who…”
Show all 61 citing cases →
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.32(A) — 5 cases
State v. Boyd, 2023 Ohio 2079 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
State v. McCartney, 2023 Ohio 4260 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
State v. McCartney, 2023 Ohio 4260 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
State v. Donaldson, 2014 Ohio 3621 (Ohio Ct. App. 2014).
Doe 1 v. Gupta (N.D. Ohio 2023).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.32(A)(1) — 13 cases
State v. Brown, 2019 Ohio 1235 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). “” However, R.C. 2905.32 does not contain the element of “force”; it only requires the act of “compulsion.”
State v. Suder, 2021 Ohio 465 (Ohio Ct. App. 2021). “This single charge was in violation of R.C. 2905.32(A)(1). Pursuant to that statute: (A) No person shall knowingly recruit, lure, entice, isolate, harbor, transport, provide, obtain, or maintain, or knowingly attempt to recruit, lure, entice, isolate, harbor, transport, provide,…”
State v. Brown, 2019 Ohio 527 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019).
State v. Haudenschild, 2024 Ohio 407 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024).
State v. Barron, 2022 Ohio 102 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). “22[A][2]), is a more specific offense than the offense of trafficking in persons (R.C. 2905.32[A][1]), and that pursuant to R.”
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.32(A)(2)(a) — 5 cases
State v. Embry, 2018 Ohio 2204 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018).
State v. Brown, 2016 Ohio 7221 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).
State v. McCartney, 2023 Ohio 4260 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
State v. Rose, 2023 Ohio 1611 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
State v. McCartney, 2023 Ohio 4260 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.32(A)(2)(b) — 2 cases
State v. Hearing, 2023 Ohio 3704 (Ohio Ct. App. 2023).
State v. Brown, 2016 Ohio 7221 (Ohio Ct. App. 2016).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.32(B) — 5 cases
State v. Brown, 2019 Ohio 1235 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). “” However, R.C. 2905.32 does not contain the element of “force”; it only requires the act of “compulsion.”
State v. Barron, 2022 Ohio 102 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). “22[A][2]), is a more specific offense than the offense of trafficking in persons (R.C. 2905.32[A][1]), and that pursuant to R.”
State v. Warren, 2015 Ohio 3671 (Ohio Ct. App. 2015).
Carmen v. Health Carousel, LLC (S.D. Ohio 2021).
Barron v. Warden, Madison Corr. Inst. (S.D. Ohio 2024).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.32(D) — 5 cases
State v. Barron, 2022 Ohio 102 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022). “22[A][2]), is a more specific offense than the offense of trafficking in persons (R.C. 2905.32[A][1]), and that pursuant to R.”
State v. Brown, 2019 Ohio 1235 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). “” However, R.C. 2905.32 does not contain the element of “force”; it only requires the act of “compulsion.”
State v. Marshall, 2022 Ohio 4693 (Ohio Ct. App. 2022).
Barron v. Warden, Madison Corr. Inst. (S.D. Ohio 2024).
State v. Marshall, 2024 Ohio 5335 (Ohio Ct. App. 2024).
— Ohio Rev. Code § 2905.32(E) — 2 cases
State v. Brown, 2019 Ohio 1235 (Ohio Ct. App. 2019). “” However, R.C. 2905.32 does not contain the element of “force”; it only requires the act of “compulsion.”
State v. Allen, 2018 Ohio 586 (Ohio Ct. App. 2018).
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