The Mann Act

It’s been decades since I’ve heard of the Mann Act, the famous federal law which bans the transport of females across state lines for “immoral purposes,” a phrase that includes both sexual activity with a minor and prostitution. But the law still exists, and it seems Gov. Spitzer violated it by arranging and paying for the transportion of a call girl from New York City to Washington, D.C. so that she could meet him in a hotel room there.

The bill was first passed in 1910, and has been amended several times. Here is the current form of it:

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, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

Update: Here’s a surprising detail. Though Spitzer apparently violated the Mann Act in paying for the call girl’s transportation from New York to D.C., according to the New York Post, “he booked her on Amtrak, aboard a cheap, regional train rather than the fancier, more expensive, Acela.” Whether it was Spitzer or the Emperor’s Club that arranged for the regular train instead of the Acela, which costs perhaps $100 more, the choice is surprising, given that Spitzer was already paying thousands of dollars for the call girl’s services.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at March 11, 2008 11:27 AM | Send