Prostitution Crimes in California

Counsel from a Santa Ana Sex Crime Lawyer

When an individual seeks to buy or sell sex for money or goods of value, it is a prostitution crime. Furthermore, an individual can be charged with a crime even if they did not engage in any sexual act, but simply agreed to do so. This often creates a gray area for the law, resulting in charges and accusations when no real sex crime took place. When you find yourself facing any type of prostitution or solicitation charge, make sure you call on a Santa Ana sex crime lawyer you can trust. As a seasoned legal advocate, I know how to handle your charges and secure a favorable outcome in court.

Let The Law Offices of Jerry Schaffer, Jr. fight the legal system on your behalf and protect your legal rights! Call now to set up your free consultation with my firm.

Defining Prostitution & Related Offenses

Under California law, an individual can be charged with the crime of prostitution for various different acts. Not all of these acts must be sexual, as some simply involve the agreement of trading sexual acts.

For example, you can be arrested and charged for:

• Participating in any sexual act for an exchange of money or goods
• Coming to an agreement of trade for sexual acts
• Soliciting an individual to exchange sex for monetary payment

This means that whether you are accused of being the individual soliciting or selling, you could be up against serious charges. While you can be charged for simply exchanging money for sex without engaging in a sexual act, you still must have committed some other action towards the crime. What does this mean? If you allegedly paid a prostitute for sex and then allowed them into your vehicle or told them where to meet you, this may be viewed as that additional act. If you did not commit any act other than exchanging money or goods, you may be able to effectively fight your charges.

“What penalties am I up against for this crime?”

Prostitution and solicitation are considered misdemeanors that can carry up to six months in jail and up to $1,000 in fines. For any additional offenses, the penalties will likely increase. In California, a second offense will bring an automatic 45 days in county jail without any possibility of probation or early release. If an individual has two or more convictions, the mandatory jail time will increase to 90 days.

The court may also choose to impose increased penalties if the crime took place in certain areas, one of the parties was a minor, or any other aggravating factors were involved. Fighting these charges can be hard, but it is not impossible, especially with a board-certified Santa Ana sex crime lawyer on your side. Whether there was insufficient or lack of evidence or entrapment was involved, you can rest assured that I will get to the bottom of your case and create a strategic defense when you hire my firm.

Fill out a free case evaluation so that I can begin reviewing your charges right away!