Deceptively Inducing Participation in Commercial Sexual Conduct or Involuntary Servitude

PURPOSE: The attorney general administers and enforces the provisions of the Merchandising Practices Act, Chapter 407, RSMo. The attorney general may make rules necessary to the administration and enforcement of the provisions of Chapter 407, RSMo, and, in order to provide notice to the public, may specify the meaning of terms, whether or not used in the Act. This rule specifies the settled meanings of certain terms used in the enforcement of the Act and provides notice to the public of their application. This rule does not contain an exhaustive list of practices that violate the Act. Instead, this rule identifies certain specific practices that violate section 407.020, RSMo. (1) It is an unfair, deceptive, fraudulent, and otherwise unlawful practice for any person to offer or provide any merchandise, or to induce another person to accept any merchandise, based on the representation that the person accepting the merchandise will be offered or provided employment other than employment involving either commercial sexual conduct or involuntary servitude, if— (A) The person offering, providing, or inducing acceptance of the service—or any person acting in concert with him or her— requests, coerces, compels, or otherwise induces the person accepting the service to participate in any commercial sexual conduct or involuntary servitude; or (B) 1) At the time he or she offered, provided, or induced acceptance of the service, the person offering, providing, or inducing acceptance of the service knew or expected that the person accepting the service would be requested, coerced, compelled, or otherwise induced to participate in any commercial sexual conduct or involuntary servitude, and 2) The person accepting the service actually is requested, coerced, compelled, or otherwise induced to participate in any commercial sexual conduct or involuntary servitude. (2) It is an unfair, deceptive, fraudulent, and otherwise unlawful practice to knowingly induce—either directly or indirectly—another person to engage in conduct that violates section (1), or to conspire or knowingly act in concert with any person regarding conduct that violates section (1). AUTHORITY: section 407.145, RSMo 2016.* Original rule filed April 3, 2017, effective Oct. 30, 2017. *Original authority: 407.145, RSMo 1986, amended 1993.