New Mexico Attorney General Unveils Package to Protect Trafficking Survivors and Strengthen Victims' Rights
New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez and State Representative Meredith Dixon announced a legislative package in Albuquerque on October 15 aimed at strengthening protections for survivors of human trafficking and child sexual exploitation and expanding the rights of crime victims. The proposals, intended for the 2027 legislative session, were unveiled alongside advocates including the New Mexico Dream Center.
The package's TIME Act would eliminate the statute of limitations for prosecuting human trafficking, raise the age of protection for child sexual exploitation from 16 to 18, establish a first-degree felony penalty when a trafficking victim is under 18, add commercial sex trafficking to the sex offender registry with lifetime registration when the victim is a minor, bar certain defenses based on a victim's sexual history, a minor's purported consent or a mistake about age, and prevent trafficking victims from being charged with prostitution or as accessories to trafficking offenses. A separate Victims' Rights Constitutional Amendment would let victims refuse pretrial interviews with defense attorneys or set reasonable conditions, require defense contact to go through the prosecuting attorney's office, shield victims' addresses, phone numbers and workplaces from disclosure to the accused absent a court order, and expand covered offenses to include robbery, stalking, household-member assault and battery, and human trafficking.
Torrez, a former federal prosecutor, said the criminal justice process can retraumatize survivors and that the law must protect victims, respect their dignity and hold perpetrators accountable. Dixon said the bills would remove barriers to prosecuting human trafficking, strengthen protections for children and give victims a meaningful voice in the legal process.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：新墨西哥州总检察长劳尔·托雷斯官方肖像。图片来源：新墨西哥州司法部（nmdoj.gov），官方发布。Photo: Official portrait of New Mexico Attorney General Raúl Torrez. Image: New Mexico Department of Justice (nmdoj.gov), official release.
