Dec. 9, 2019 7:35p
(WGTD)---A Kenosha judge has ruled that a state law that affords blanket protection from prosecution for victims of human trafficking is ambiguous and could lead to—quote—“absurd results.”
Judge David Wilk made his ruling Monday in the case of Chrystul Kizer, who shot and killed a man that was involved in the trafficking of girls.
The ruling sets up a possible pre-trial appeal by the defense, and an angry reaction from people who are trying to protect the victims of human trafficking.
But Wilk said the relatively new law—which hasn’t been tested—creates potential inequities. As an example, Wilk said that a victim of repeated sexual assault who kills the perpetrator could only reasonably claim second degree intentional homicide, while the victim of human trafficking could justify such a killing by claiming nothing more serious than financial coercion. "Such an interpretation is neither reasonable or proportional and requires an impermissibly broad statutory interpretation," he said.
The Kizer case has drawn national attention. The courtroom was packed Monday, primarily with Kizer supporters, who weren’t immediately sure of what the eight-minute ruling delivered orally from the bench actually meant.
According to a brief filed by the defense, the man who was killed, Randall Volar, had described himself as an “escort trainer,” and had solicited Kizer for commercial sex acts when she was 16. To help support its case, the defense cites videos of Volar with young girls.
In making his ruling, Wilk said he would welcome any "interlocutory"--or pre-trial--appeals.
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