Former Senior LA Prosecutor. Harvard Law School Educated. In order to prove a defendant engaged in prostitution, the prosecutor must establish the following:. Under the law, when a prostitute and a customer engage in sexual intercourse or lewd acts, both of them are engaged in an act of prostitution. A man is driving along late at night when he sees an attractive woman walking by herself. The man passes by a few times and then pulls over in front of the woman.
The woman asks the man what he wants. The woman reveals herself be an undercover police officer and the man is arrested. In another example a man meets a woman at a bar and immediately hits it off with her. The man and woman have sex in his hotel room. When they are finished, the woman reveals that she is a prostitute and demands to be paid. The man does not want any trouble so he quietly pays the woman. The man is not criminally liable for prostitution in this scenario as he did not willfully engage in prostitution at the time the act occurred.
There may be situations in undercover sting operations conducted by law enforcement where an officer becomes too aggressive and pushes a suspect into engaging in behavior or activity they would not normally be inclined to commit.
In these situations, there may be a valid entrapment defense. Prostitution is a misdemeanor offense that is punishable by up to six months in jail and costly court fines for a first offense.
In addition, this is an offense that can cause serious damage to marriages, employment opportunities and reputations. If the defendant has one prior prostitution conviction, he or she must be sentenced to a minimum of 45 days in jail.
