Does the Mann Act apply to males?

[alphaboi867]

Thank's to Eliot Spitzer the Mann Act (aka the White-Slave Traffic Act) is in the news again. The act refers to transporting women or girls repeatly. Does this mean that it's legal (under federal law) to transport men or boys ror immoral purposes?

[Fear Itself]

No.

In 1986 the law was further amended. The new amendments made the entire act gender neutral as to victims of sexual exploitation. More important, all references to debauchery and any other immoral purpose were replaced by the phrase "any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense" (Pub. L. No. 99-628, 100 Stat. 3511–3512.) This change took the federal government out of the business of defining immoral.

[pravnik]

What he said:

Transportation generally

Whoever knowingly transports any individual in interstate or foreign commerce, or in any Territory or Possession of the United States, with intent that such individual engage in prostitution, or in any sexual activity for which any person can be charged with a criminal offense, or attempts to do so, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both.

18 U.S.C. § 2421

There are other statutes that target the forced, fraudulent or coerced trafficking or sex trafficking of persons and minors that carry significantly harsher penalties.

[KneadToKnow]

For years after I first saw Smokey and the Bandit, I thought Sheriff Justice had said "that's a man's act" when describing all the things the Bandit was guilty of. It seemed an oddly complimentary way to describe a kidnapping. I think I was in high school before I figured it out.