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n. a federal statute making it a crime to transport a woman across state lines for "immoral" purposes. The Mann Act was intended to prevent the movement of prostitutes from one state to another or in and out of the country in the so-called "white slave" trade. However, it also applies to a male taking his under-age girlfriend to a love-nest in a neighboring state, or a female transporting an under-age boy across the state line for such purposes. Maximum term is five years in a federal prison.