Welcome back! This is the second installment in our month-long series recapping the panel presentations from the “Combatting Commercial Sexual Exploitation Through Law and Policy Symposium,” held on June 7, 2022, at Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. The CSE Institute invites you to watch the second panel, “Post Criminalization: Criminal Record Relief.”
This panel incorporated a diverse set of perspectives, all examining the importance of criminal record relief for survivors of sex trafficking. Mary McDonough, Policy Director for The Human Trafficking Interagency Coordinating Council; Liam Riley, Assistant District Attorney and Supervisor of the Major Trial Unit at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office; Mariana Kosharovsky, Executive Director of Alliance to Leave Impact in Global Human Trafficking (ALIGHT); and Bekah Charleston, CEO and Co-Founder of The Charleston Law Center in Nevada, discussed the options available to survivors in the criminal justice system – namely, records sealing, expungement, vacatur, and pardon. The panelists further emphasized that the criminalization of victims is widespread, as most survivors of trafficking are arrested at least once during the time of their trafficking victimization.
This panel discussed the ramifications of a criminal record and the barriers it creates for survivors. Each of the panelists shared their unique perspectives – from advocates providing resources to victims facing prior convictions, to those working in criminal prosecution itself. Together, the panelists expanded on the several facets of life that are affected by a criminal record, including employment, housing, and education. The panelists emphasized how difficult it can be for survivors to navigate life with a criminal record, especially given the limited relief options available to them.
The panelists continually highlighted that a criminal conviction impacts a survivor’s ability to move forward in practical ways, such as applying to jobs or finding a place to live. Significantly, victims who face past convictions also may lose control of their own personal story. As Bekah Charleston pointed out, “It is one thing to share your experience as a survivor because you want to, it’s another thing to share your story because you have to.” The panelists committed a lot of their time to this discussion, exploring the ways in which victims, who may not have had the chance to control much of the narrative of their own lives, are then forced by their convictions to have their stories framed for them.
The panelists discussed possible paths forward to improve the post-conviction relief opportunities for survivors, focusing on access to vacatur as well as preventing criminal convictions of survivors in the first place. It is abundantly clear that trafficking victims face collateral legal consequences as a result of their victimization. Mariana Kosharovsky summarizes this injustice, saying, “How must it feel for someone to not be able to move forward; to not be able to move on.”
Thank you again to our wonderful panel:
- Mary McDonough, Policy Director for The Human Trafficking Interagency Coordinating Council (Delaware)
- Liam Riley, Assistant District Attorney and Supervisor of the Major Trial Unit at the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
- Mariana Kosharovsky, Executive Director of Alliance to Leave Impact in Global Human Trafficking (ALIGHT) (Denver, Colorado)
- Bekah Charleston, Ceo/Co-Founder of The Charleston Law Center in Nevada (Nevada)
Watch Panel 2: Post-Criminalization: Criminal Record Relief here.
All views expressed herein are personal to the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law or of Villanova University.