566.210. Sexual trafficking of a child, first degree, penalty.
1. A person commits the offense of sexual trafficking of a child in the first degree if he or she knowingly:
- Recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, or obtains by any means, including but not limited to through the use of force, abduction, coercion, fraud, deception, blackmail, or causing or threatening to cause financial harm, a person under the age of twelve to participate in a commercial sex act, a sexual performance, or the production of explicit sexual material as defined in section 573.010, or benefits, financially or by receiving anything of value, from participation in such activities;
- Causes a person under the age of twelve to engage in a commercial sex act, a sexual performance, or the production of explicit sexual material as defined in section 573.010; or
- Advertises the availability of a person under the age of twelve to participate in a commercial sex act, a sexual performance, or the production of explicit sexual material as defined in section 573.010.
2. It shall not be a defense that the defendant believed that the person was twelve years of age or older.
3. The offense of sexual trafficking of a child in the first degree is a felony for which the authorized term of imprisonment is life imprisonment without eligibility for probation or parole until the offender has served not less than twenty-five years of such sentence. Subsection 4 of section 558.019 shall not apply to the sentence of a person who has been found guilty of sexual trafficking of a child less than twelve years of age, and “life imprisonment” shall mean imprisonment for the duration of a person’s natural life for the purposes of this section.
