prostitution

May 11, 2022

Is Prostitution Legal in California?

Sex work can be a bit of a gray area in terms of legality. The big difference between, say, being an escort and engaging in prostitution, is payment for sex. What may start out as a legal arrangement could become illegal should money be exchanged for sex. Conviction for a prostitution crime can come with punishments including up to $1,000 in fines and jail time.

If you were charged with a solicitation or prostitution violation, there are legal defenses available to you. The prosecutor on your case must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you had the intent to participate in a sex act, entered an agreement to the terms of how the sex act would be compensated, and then engaged in the sex act. For solicitation charges, though, a sexual act does not even have to happen.

To protect your best interests after an arrest, consider connecting with an experienced San Diego prostitution defense attorney at the Law Offices of Davide M. Boertje to have your situation professionally evaluated.

The Legality of California’s Sex Industry

Prostitution charges or solicitation charges can be devastating to your reputation and could result in issues within your career and/or your home and personal life. The stigma of such charges alone can cause irreparable harm in one’s life. Fighting such charges with convincing and persuasive arguments may help you avoid criminal penalties and go a long way toward clearing your name.

Prostitution occurs when there is intent to engage in a sexual act and there is a financial transaction to pay for it. Prostitution is illegal in California. Soliciting another person for a sex act and offering to pay for it is also illegal in California.

An escort is a person who provides non-sexual companionship and is paid for those services. Hiring an escort is legal in the state of California, but there are guidelines. The police department must issue a California escort worker with a valid permit to operate. Without one, a person calling themselves an escort would be doing so unlawfully.

One can legally engage in a sexual act with a licensed escort. This is true as long as there was no exchange of compensation and both parties consented to the act. It becomes unlawful when any lewd or sexual act takes place and a fee is paid for the act.

Think about this scenario: You want to hit the town and try a new restaurant, but your friends are all busy. Perhaps you hire an escort to accompany you so you do not have to go alone. If you are hiring a licensed escort from a reputable agency, this is a legal practice in the state of California. Though should some type of sexual activity occur between you and the escort you hired, and payment is made, then this would be considered a crime. Continue reading

November 12, 2021

Is it Illegal to Pay for Prostitution Services in California?

by David M. Boertje

Prostitution is illegal in the state of California. Despite this, it is possible that if a person is arrested for prostitution, they may not be prosecuted. It is not just the person selling prostitution services who can be arrested and charged with crimes, the buyer of such services can also be arrested. “Johns” may also face harsh criminal penalties if convicted of soliciting sex services.

If you have been arrested for a sex crime, either selling or soliciting sex services, you will need a skilled criminal defense attorney protecting your interests. Since law enforcement engages in sting operations to identify sex workers, but mainly their customers, being caught engaging in these illegal acts can have devastating results. Working with a San Diego sex crime defense attorney improves your chances of overcoming your charges and getting the most favorable results.

How Do Prosecution Stings Happen in San Diego?

Police officers in San Diego who are tasked with finding prostitution activities go undercover in many different ways including:

Posing as a prostitute on websites, chat rooms, social media, and other online forums.
Renting venues that are commonly associated with sex solicitors. Massage parlors are common.

Prostitution stings in San Diego have the main goal of identifying the people who are looking for sex services and willing to pay for them. If you are arrested for solicitation of sex services in San Diego and convicted, you can spend months in jail and pay heavy fines. With multiple solicitation arrests, you may be subject to an extended jail sentence.

It is necessary that the authorities show that a defendant had the intent to engage in a sexual act with another party and that there would be a transaction of some form of compensation for the sex. One defense available to a defendant is that they have been the victim of entrapment. Entrapment by police is different from simply being caught in a sting. If entrapment exists, it can make for a strong defense against solicitation charges.

Entrapment happens when a person is forced into committing a crime they had no prior desire to commit. For example, if it can be shown that a defendant was tricked, intimidated, pressured, or was on the receiving end of other forceful acts to get them to pay for sex services, this would be considered entrapment.

Law enforcement largely goes after solicitors more so than prostitutes themselves. This is because it is believed that if the demand for sex services is eliminated, the supply will disappear. Also, there is some belief that it is improper to punish someone for offering sex-related services. Amnesty International, for instance, believes that all sex services, both buying, and selling should be decriminalized.

Still, in some cases, prostitutes themselves are arrested and people who are shown to be their pimps can also be arrested. Continue reading

March 1, 2019

Did You Buy Sex From a Sex Worker?

by David M. Boertje

For the last two weeks the owner of the New England Patriots football team has been the subject of many jokes and conjecture in regards to his sex life following his recent arrest and charge for solicitation of prostitutes in Jupiter, Florida. As many as 300 people are expected to be arrested in the latest law enforcement crackdown of sex trafficking in massage parlors in that region. Kraft faces two counts of soliciting another to commit prostitution, which are misdemeanor charges allegedly based on two separate visits to the Orchids of Asia Day Spa.

The massage parlor at the center of the Kraft investigation, the Orchids of Asia Day Spa, was shut down along with nine other massage parlor businesses in Florida. The massage parlors are accused of running a prostitution service out of their stores. These massage parlors are often located in strip malls and advertise half an hour to an hour massages for a fee. Instead of a massage, however, sexual acts are performed by the workers.

Women were also arrested during this crackdown. The women were identified as sex workers or victims of sex trafficking. The sex trafficking victims are new arrivals to the United States. They are recruited in their hometowns overseas or in the U.S. immediately after their arrival under false pretenses of a legitimate job. Once here, however, they are forced to become sex workers against their will.

Sex Trafficking in San Diego

The weekend before the Super Bowl, the FBI made splashy headlines around the nation when they announced the arrest of 139 people in the greater Atlanta Georgia area for soliciting sex from prostitutes. The Florida and Georgia stings may seem remote, but San Diego conducts such stings regularly. In January 2018, 29 people were arrested for soliciting sex during a sex trafficking sting operation here in California. The FBI lists San Diego as one of the 13 highest sex trafficking areas in the country.

Massage parlors are part of many sting operations because they are a common place at which these types of activities occur. An investigation published by WNBC San Diego in November of 2018 found that 243 massage parlors in San Diego offered sex acts to clients as a service. The practice is so rampant, that a subscription-based website was created to provide reviews and pricing of the services members received. Continue reading

November 29, 2018

Prostitution Crimes

by David M. Boertje

Prostitution is illegal in the majority of states in America, including California. Often referred to as the “world’s oldest profession,” at its most simple definition, prostitution is the exchange of sex for money. People are divided as to whether prostitution is a victimless crime, as sex workers often endure serious physical, financial, drug, and sexual abuse. Others, especially in states that permit prostitution, like Nevada, argue that it is a job like any other.

California’s Prostitution Laws

Prostitution is the exchange of sex for money or other form of payment. California laws define prostitution as a lewd act requiring physical contact of a sexual nature, sexual conduct, or sexual intercourse between two people. The sex worker is often the person charged with prostitution crimes.

California’s Solicitation Laws

Solicitation is an offer to pay money for sex. The john or client is often the person charged with solicitation crimes.

California’s Pandering Laws

Pandering is the act of arranging a sex act between a sex worker and client for a fee or cut of the amount charged. The panderer is called a pimp or madame and is often charged with pandering crimes.

Defenses to Prostitution Charges

Law enforcement agencies throughout the country set up sting operations to round up prostitutes and their clients. Every couple of months numerous arrests for prostitution and solicitation charges make the media, with over a dozen people arrested in a sting. Individuals charged with prostitution often rely on the defense of entrapment by an undercover police officer if their arrests were part of a sting operation by law enforcement officials.

Minors can no longer be charged with prostitution crimes with the passage of SB 1322, which decriminalized prostitution for individuals under 18. These individuals are instead referred to child welfare services.

Charged With a Prostitution Crime in California?

Prostitution and solicitation crimes are considered nuisance crimes, that lower the standards of a community. They make a big splash because prominent people often get arrested for solicitation. While jail sentences tend to be short, many times the sex workers themselves are repeat offenders, and their penalties increase with each arrest. Pandering charges tend to be felonies and carry long jail terms. If you face prostitution, solicitation, or pandering charges in California, consult a qualified San Diego Criminal Defense Attorney who can help mitigate the penalties. Continue reading

December 12, 2017

California Courts May Consider Legalizing Prostitution

by David M. Boertje

Prostitution has been illegal in California since 1872. However, despite the over-a-century-long history, some sex workers claim that engaging in sexual activity for money is part of their right to earn a living. A sex workers’ advocacy group, the Service Providers Legal Education and Research Project, is seeking to decriminalize prostitution and has filed a constitutional challenge to the anti-prostitution law in California, saying it violates constitutional protections on free speech, freedom of association, and due process. The plaintiffs also include three unidentified former prostitutes and a disabled man who says he wants to be a respectful client of erotic services.

Citing the landmark 2003 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in Lawrence v. Texas, which struck down the sodomy law in the state of Texas, the plaintiffs in this case argue that sexual conduct among consenting adults is a “fundamental right.”

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has ruled that the legal challenge may proceed.

A change in the status of sex workers could have a big impact on California beyond escorts and prostitutes. Deterring human trafficking is one reason that state authorities have cited for keeping the law as is. Currently, prostitution is illegal in all 50 states with the exception of a few Nevada counties.

Current California Law on Prostitution:

California Penal Code § 647(b) explicitly prohibits:

Engaging in the act of prostitution, and
Offering or agreeing to engage in the act of prostitution.

The crime of prostitution or solicitation of it is a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months imprisonment and a $1000 fine. However, California law does not automatically require registration as a sex offender if you have been convicted of prostitution.

California Penal Code § 653.22 further makes it a crime punishable by six months imprisonment to loiter to commit prostitution (i.e. standing in a street corner).

Legal Defenses

Entrapment occurs when police behave in a way that applies pressure or defrauds you to engage in behavior you otherwise would not have. Entrapment defenses are sometimes used, since a number of prostitution/solicitation arrests are made by undercover cops. Many defendants are unfairly lured by saavy cops.

Other Related Crimes

California Penal Code § 266 covers the crimes of “pimping” and pandering, while California Penal Code § 647(a) covers lewd conduct in public. Lewd conduct occurs when someone engages in a sexual act in public. Continue reading

December 4, 2015

How Young Girls are Lured into Prostitution in San Diego

by David M. Boertje

In a shocking study just released by researchers from the University of San Diego and Point Loma Nazerene University, results estimated there are 8,830 to 11,773 underage and adult sex-trafficking victims in San Diego per year. This number is much higher than originally thought, and victims of sex trafficking come from all races and socioeconomic backgrounds, although 98% are female. It is estimated that $810 million spent on prostitution annually is connected to sex-slavery. However, only 15 to 20% of human trafficking victims in the county come into contact with law enforcement.

Typically, under-aged girls are recruited under the guise of romance by an older male at a public place such as the mall or school. They then get manipulated to work the streets to support their older ‘boyfriends.’ In the internet age, social media such as Facebook is also being used to recruit girls. Children who don’t fit in with their peers, or those who suffer from mental illness are often targeted. Other times, an experienced prostitute posing to be an under-aged girl enrolls in schools to help with recruitment.

In 2012, the District Attorney’s Office prosecuted 48 human trafficking, pimping, and pandering cases of adults and minors. That number has fluctuated the past several years. The same office is also responsible for prosecuting human trafficking-related cases as well as racketeering and gang activity.