For Human Trafficking Victims, State Offers 'A New Beginning'

Katie had been in Baltimore less than 24 hours when police burst into a Linthicum hotel room during a prostitution sting in May 2011. Her arrest that day brought a mix of fear and relief. The young woman, originally from Texas, had worked in prostitution on and off since she was 13 — when she was trafficked by her first pimp. Eight years later, she would turn 21 in jail. Katie eventually found social services that she said helped her get her life straightened out. But she still had prostitution charges on her record, and they weighed heavily on her mind. Today, those charges have been erased through conviction vacatur, a process permitted by a 2011 Maryland state law that allows victims of human trafficking to have prostitution records cleared. Click here to read more about Katie's story.