The Michigan Human Trafficking Commission is calling on the state legislature to pass more laws to better protect victims and allow for longer sentences for those charged in trafficking cases.
The office of state Attorney General Bill Schuette says the recommendations were made Wednesday at the commission's first meeting of the year.
Recommendations to help victims include allowing prostitution-related offenses prosecuted under local ordinances to be removed from victims' criminal records. The commission also wants more potential prison time for sex traffickers. And it wants more expert witnesses testimony allowed at trial.
Gov. Rick Snyder in 2014 signed anti-human trafficking laws designed to shield minor victims from prosecution in Michigan, give them treatment and crack down on criminals involved in the illegal sex trade.