Protect Your Reputation, With An Experienced Aggressive Defense
Generally an arrest for soliciting a prostitute – also called patronizing a prostitute or loitering for prostitution – is a misdemeanor, punishable by a maximum of 90 days in jail and a $1,000 fine. Most people do not get sent to jail for soliciting a prostitute, but the collateral damage to your life and your reputation, can be extreme. A prostitution conviction can seriously damage personal relationships, it can affect your employment, it could become an issue in custody disputes, and will show up on your criminal record.
If you are convicted of soliciting an underage prostitute, then you will have a felony record and be required to register as a sex offender.
Common Types of Prostitution Cases
Many people who are arrests for soliciting or patronizing a prostitute arise out of a police officer’s misinterpretations of the event, false accusations, or entrapment. A prostitution arrest comes about in one of two ways: 1) the police officer thinks that they have scene you patronize a prostitute, or 2) the police are conducting a sting.
Street Arrests for Prostitution
When the police officer observers alleged prostitution behavior, the arrest is based entirely on the officer’s interpretation of the event. For instance a police report might say that the officer saw the subject pick up a known prostitute in a high prostitution area. This raises serious questions about whether the police officer actually had probable cause to make the initial stop. Without probable cause to make the initial stop, the police officer lacked the legal authority to make the stop, question you, and question the alleged prostitute.
Another issue is that many cases the alleged prostitute will implicate you, because of police pressure. This means that the alleged prostitute may falsely accuse you of soliciting sex in exchange for payment. It is important to determine what the officers actually learned from the alleged prostitute and how accurate their statements actually were. The prostitute’s false accusations may have been made because they were put under pressure by the police, and their story may change or be subject to impeachment.
Street Prostitution Stings
The problem with street stings is that they are subject to police error and entrapment. A street sting can occur anywhere. I have heard about the police setting up near libraries, big box retailers, shopping centers, and outside of gas stations. If you happened to visit one of these establishments and happened to make eye contact with the undercover officer, then you can set the sting in motion. All the undercover officer has to do is have a conversation with you and then give the signal to the police cars, and you have been arrested. The conversation with the undercover officer may not have made any sense or you may have tried to brush her off, still you can get arrested. Anytime someone has been arrested for soliciting an undercover officer for prostitution, it raises serious concerns about whether the undercover officer’s report is completely accurate and whether you were entrapped.
Internet Prostitution Stings
Internet stings are easy ways for the police to get lots of prostitution arrests very quickly and with little effort. It is well known that the police use Craigslist to set up stings. In the Seattle area there are also well known websites used by men and women to find each other, these include The Review Board (TRB), The TNA Board, The Back Page, Top Hat Reviews, and Eros. You should assume that the police are aware of these online resources and that the police monitor these sites for prostitution and may use these sites for internet stings.
Anytime that the police are putting out an ad that even implies that the advertiser is a prostitute or provides prostitution services, there is a serious risk of entrapment. The police officer’s act of putting an an advertisement on the Internet of a site like The Review Board or the TNA Board, indicates that the idea for the offense originated with the police. This is the first step towards establishing an entrapment defense. Then officer’s conduct after you have made contact will determine whether the rest of the requirements for the defense are met. Once I have an opportunity to review the police reports and talk with you, I can determine if the entrapment defense will work in your case.
