Police departments across the state may soon be required to develop policies that prohibit their officers from having sex with anyone they are investigating for prostitution.
Under a measure that cleared the General Assembly this week, departments would have until July 1 to implement the new rule. House Bill 4410 passed Tuesday with a vote of 73-38 after clearing the Senate 43-10. It still needs a signature from Gov. JB Pritzker to become law.
The bill also changes existing laws’ references to “juvenile prostitution” to “commercial sexual exploitation of a child.”
On top of that change, the term “juvenile prostitute” in existing law will be replaced with “sexually exploited child,” and the word “prostitute” when referring to adults will be replaced with “person engaged in the sex trade.”
State law enforcement agencies must also seal their records about a person’s Class 4 felony conviction for prostitution by Jan. 1, 2028, if the person’s charge is eligible. For example, a person’s charge might be eligible if they were a victim of human trafficking, along with other circumstances laid out in the bill.
This article first appeared on Capitol News Illinois and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.
