By Zachary Margulis-Ohnuma
Having sex with a 17-year-old is not a federal sex offense. Having sex with a 17-year-old is not a sex crime under most state laws.
But paying to have sex with a 17-year-old? With Venmo?
That is a whole other story.
Practically any involvement (“recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, obtains, advertises, maintains, patronizes, or solicits by any means a person”) with a commercial sex act involving someone under 18 constitutes federal sex trafficking. It carries a ten-year mandatory minimum prison sentence under 18 U.S.C. Sec. 1591. The maximum sentence is life.
And if Matt Gaetz–who was briefly Donald Trump’s pick as the nation’s chief law enforcement officer–did what they say he did, he is clearly guilty of it. So the “discretionary” decision not to charge him with a crime, in other words the decision not to believe the 17-year-old who allegedly testified that Matt Gaetz paid her for sex, saved Mr. Gaetz from at least ten years in prison. What Gaetz is accused of is not just “sexual misconduct with a minor” or a small indiscretion: it is among the most serious crimes in the Federal Criminal Code.
There is another consequence to the sex-trafficking allegation. In sex trafficking cases, the victim can file a civil suit against anyone who does those things to them–recruits, entices, harbors, transports, provides, obtains, advertises, maintains, patronizes, or solicits. The lawsuit would be for damages arising from the perpetrator’s conduct. The victim has ten years to file suit, either from when the transaction takes place or from when she turns 18, if she is underage at the time of the commercial sex act. If the victim wins, she gets attorneys’ fees on top of her damages.
So just because the Department of Justice seems to have declined to pursue charges against the Republican former congressman (he resigned just as the House Ethics Committee was set to release its report about him), does not mean his conduct will never be considered by a court of law. His accuser has ten years from when she turned 18, so until around 2028, to pursue an action for damages. And yes: her sworn testimony is enough to get to a jury and force former Congressman Gaetz–the man picked by President-elect Donald Trump as our nation’s next attorney general–to face up to what he did. If the victim files suit, a federal court can force Gaetz to answer the charges, be deposed, and stand trial in federal court before a six- or eight-person civil jury.
One might not expect that a man in his 20s having sex with a 17-year-old would be so serious that a judge could lock him up for life. The federal sex trafficking statutes are incredibly broad. They cover all sorts of situations where sex is paid for. Women and men who are coerced, defrauded or forced into commercial sex acts in prisons, strip clubs, brothels, corporate parties and many other settings can sue everyone involved. If you or someone you know was harmed by a commercial sex act, you should consult with an New York sex crime attorney to see if you have a case, even if you don’t want to go to the police or the FBI.
And, of course, if Matt Gaetz paid you for sex when you were under eighteen, please call or contact our office.