Alia Beard Rau

The Republic | azcentral.com

The Arizona Legislature gave final approval Monday to a bill that will help law enforcement more easily pursue pimps who deal in child prostitution.

House Bill 2374 would make it a crime to "knowingly provide the means" by which a child engages in prostitution. Law enforcement and legal groups are supporting the bill, which has no public opposition.

The Senate gave the bill unanimous final approval Monday. It has already passed the House and now goes to Gov. Doug Ducey for his consideration.

Rep. Eddie Farnsworth, R-Gilbert, introduced the bill on behalf of Maricopa County Attorney's Office sex crimes prosecutors.

Will Munsil, the lobbyist for the county attorney's office, said existing laws have some holes that this bill would close. Current law makes it clear that it's a crime to cause a child to engage in prostitution, to benefit financially from a child prostitute or to provide transportation to a child prostitute.

Munsil said this law would address situations in which a pimp provides a cellphone or a motel room or drugs to further a child's work as a prostitute.

"They are clearly engaging in child prostitution, but the current child prostitution statute doesn't clearly cover this conduct," Munsil said. "They think they can build these layers of distance between themselves and the prostitution activity. This would no longer allow pimps to evade responsibility for their actions."

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