California law PC 647(b) prohibits prostitution. It makes it illegal to engage in, offer, or agree to exchange sexual acts for compensation. This is one of the laws enforced by authorities to address exploitation, trafficking, and threats to public safety. Thus, convictions for accusations of prostitution come with hefty fines and even jail time.
California’s approach to prostitution involves prosecuting those who offer and solicit services. Defending yourself against these accusations requires a clear understanding of the law and the potential defenses you can use. Below is a breakdown of California’s prostitution laws, which will help you understand the charges and their impact.
An Overview of Prostitution
The scope of California’s prostitution laws goes well beyond mere prostitution and includes an extensive array of sexual acts for compensation. Prostitution under PC 647(b) is not limited to traditional sexual intercourse. It also includes oral copulation, manual stimulation, mutual masturbation, and other physical contacts intended to arouse or satisfy sexual desires. The broad legal definition of prostitution includes various sexual acts, regardless of their form.
The law targets both the people who offer sexual services and the people who solicit them. This is part of the government’s effort to reduce exploitation and human trafficking while promoting public safety.
Prostitution is not limited to street corners and public spaces. As digital technology advances rapidly, many people now use online platforms, including websites, social media, and apps, to arrange sexual exchanges for compensation. California law has kept up with this shift by extending the same legal framework to virtual interactions. Virtual agreements are treated as equally unlawful as in-person encounters, and the legal system also addresses digital solicitation.
California’s prostitution laws center around three key actions that prosecutors must prove in any case:
- Engaging in prostitution — You engage in prostitution when you give or provide sexual services in exchange for some kind of compensation. Both the service provider and the recipient can be held legally liable. Electronic sex exchanges for money, goods, or other compensation are also included, as this is a direct exchange of sexual favors.
- Soliciting prostitution — This means trying to get someone to arrange, encourage, or promote a sexual exchange for payment. Those who initiate or attempt to organize these transactions are subject to prosecution. Verbal offers or acts of apparent intention to procure or arrange prostitution are included.
- Accepting or participating in prostitution — This action refers to agreeing to take part in or accept an offer of sexual services for remuneration. The law can charge anyone who decides to participate, even if they pay for or provide these services.
Willfully Engaging in Prostitution
In California, all sexual acts must be consensual. If they are not, it escalates to rape, which is far more serious. In prostitution cases, you must have engaged in acts of a sexual nature (sexual intercourse, lewd conduct) voluntarily for monetary or other payment.
Willfully means knowing and voluntarily doing an act. You must have been fully informed and engaged in the sexual act free from force or outside coercion. However, willfully does not mean you intend to commit a crime or gain an unfair advantage. What the courts instead look at is whether or not you were aware that you were doing the act of exchanging sexual services for compensation. This is a critical distinction. Willfully means voluntary participation, but it does not require criminal intent. Prosecutors do not have to show that you deliberately intended to break the law or sought to profit unlawfully. They must prove you knew what you were doing when you participated in the exchange.
Willfully Participating in Prostitution
Prosecutors must prove willful participation in a prostitution act by showing that you agreed to or facilitated a transaction in which someone will perform sexual acts. This includes engaging in prostitution and soliciting prostitution. You could face prosecution, even if you do not participate personally in the act. You could have:
- Arranged for a meeting
- Accepted payment on someone else’s behalf
- Agreeing to the terms of the exchange
- Confirmed the exchange
Consenting or playing a role in making the transaction possible may be enough to satisfy the legal rules for participation.
Prostitution involves engaging in offering a sexual service in exchange for money or goods. The sexual services could involve performing sexual acts like intercourse, oral copulation, or other physical interactions that are intended to increase sexual desires and do it with the intention of being paid for it. Participation in a sexual exchange includes in-person and online participation.
Participation in the act does not always mean that you have to get physically involved in sex. Participation can be shown by just agreeing to meet someone to exchange sexual services, responding positively to a solicitation, or stating an intention to participate. If you did not have sex but agreed to the terms, met with the person, or were part of the arrangement, it is enough to prove willful involvement.
Awareness of the Nature of the Act
If you are charged with willful participation in a prostitution act, prosecutors must also prove that you knew that you were committing a prostitution act. This means you must have understood that the exchange involved sexual services in exchange for money, goods, or any other reward for the services.
Awareness of the nature of the act is key because it shows that you knowingly participated in the transaction. For instance, suppose you agreed to provide sexual services in exchange for compensation, in which case you had to have recognized that this was the core of the interaction. Just like responding positively to a solicitation for sexual services in person or online confirms understanding that the exchange involved prostitution.
If you show up at a specific location for compensation to provide sexual service, your actions point to you being aware. Even if you did not explicitly discuss the terms, the context and intention behind the meeting should be clear: the exchange is for sexual acts in return for compensation.
Penalties for Prostitution Offenses
Under California law, the prostitution charges are typically misdemeanors, Penal Code 647(b). If convicted, you could face several penalties, including:
- Up to six months in county jail
- Fines of up to $1,000
- Probation instead of jail time, which may call for counseling or community service
Prostitution-related offenses are generally misdemeanors. However, charges can be increased to felonies if you are a repeat offender or there are aggravating factors like involvement in trafficking.
Under California law, prostitution offenses for second and subsequent offenses require mandatory jail sentences. A second offense of such a crime is punishable by 45 days in jail, and a third offense requires 90 days in jail.
California law can require a 30-day driver’s license suspension if you are charged with a prostitution offense in the 1,000-foot vicinity of a residence. That penalty aims to discourage prostitution near residential areas.
Defenses You Can Use to Fight Prostitution Charges
Prostitution charges are not impossible to fight. You can secure a favorable legal outcome with the right defense. Remember, you are innocent until proven guilty. Prosecutors bear the burden of proving your guilt beyond reasonable doubt. If they fail to meet this standard, the charges should be dismissed. Here are some defenses that can help you challenge the allegations:
You Were Falsely Accused
It is not as rare to be falsely accused of prostitution as many would believe. Accusers often level these accusations at people for personal reasons, including jealousy, a desire for revenge, or other motivations. Sometimes, people can be wrongly associated with prostitution because of a mistaken identity. These scenarios can create serious challenges for you, especially if your reputation or freedom is at risk.
Sometimes, false accusations stem from miscommunication. This could occur in situations where someone misinterprets your actions. For example, you could be in a particular area or engaged in an activity in an area known for prostitution. Someone then assumes you are engaging in prostitution because you simply were at that location. If the authorities get involved, these false impressions could lead to your arrest and prosecution.
Sometimes accusations come from personal disputes. Even if the charge is false, someone with a vendetta may try to ruin your reputation by alleging you are a prostitute. People also make these accusations because they are jealous or would want payback for a past wrong, especially in highly charged personal relationships.
You Participated or Engaged in Prostitution Against Your Will
If you were forced, coerced, or trafficked into prostitution, you could argue that you were a victim. Prostitution charges are only valid when the person knowingly and voluntarily engages in sexual acts for compensation. If you were manipulated, threatened, or forced, that is against the principle of willful action, which is necessary for a conviction.
If, in these situations, you can prove that your involvement in prostitution was the result of external pressures, manipulation, or physical threats, you are likely to be seen as an unwilling participant. That is important, mainly because the law does not punish people who are brought into criminal activities through no fault of their own. Human trafficking laws and protections for victims are in place to protect those exploited.
Evidence of physical abuse, threats of harm, or psychological manipulation goes a long way in proving you did not participate willingly. Witness testimony, records, or even prior reports of abuse will also prove invaluable.
You Were Entrapped
Police sting operations, in which undercover police officers pose as clients or sex workers to arrest people for engaging in prohibited activities, are often the cause of prostitution-related arrests. These operations are permitted by law in adherence to specific provisions. However, police officers sometimes go beyond what is ethical and legal. When police officers cross this line, you have grounds to assert an entrapment defense.
Entrapment happens when law enforcement convinces or forces you to engage in a criminal activity you would not have committed without the law enforcement's encouragement. This defense hinges on two key elements:
- That you lacked the predisposition to engage in prostitution
- That officer induced the act through the use of inappropriate tactics
Entrapment does not occur simply because you were presented with an opportunity to engage in illegal behavior. Instead, the focus is on whether the authorities induced you into criminal conduct through undue influence, manipulation, or exploitation of vulnerabilities.
In prostitution cases, undercover officers could overstep when they employ unethical or aggressive tactics. For instance, if an officer keeps pressuring you to agree to an exchange of sexual favors for money when you make it clear you will not or are not willing to, that is entrapment. Similarly, exploiting personal hardships like financial hardships or emotional vulnerabilities to make you participate helps strengthen this defense. Some officers may misrepresent their intentions to get you to act in a manner you would not have otherwise acted.
To prove entrapment, you must examine all the circumstances surrounding your arrest very closely. Building a strong defense is based on evidence. Recorded conversations, text messages, or other communications that prove coercive or manipulative behavior on the officer’s part are constructive. Video surveillance and witness testimony about the officer's conduct during the sting operation can also be invaluable.
Remember, the entrapment defense is not about denying the acts. Instead, they highlight the misconduct of law enforcement. The issue is not whether you intended to commit the crime but whether the crime was brought about by improper police influence and whether the process was fair. Courts recognize the seriousness of these matters because entrapment undermines the justice system's integrity and raises concerns about overreach by legal authorities.
Loitering for Prostitution
Loitering for prostitution was a crime in California. However, this changed when California's Senate Bill 357 became law. This legislation repealed the provisions contained in Penal Code Section 653.22, which, until July 2022, made it a crime for a person to loiter in public to commit prostitution. The new law is designed to end practices that unfairly target people, especially Black, Brown, and transgender women, through subjective judgments rather than hard evidence.
Senate Bill 357 removed this statute, and by doing so, it ensured that loitering for prostitution purposes was no longer a criminal offense. This helped address the systemic biases in how law enforcement officers enforce prostitution-related laws.
The law also gives those convicted under PC 653.22 a way to clear their records. If you are one of them, you can appeal your convictions to have your convictions dismissed and start over with no criminal record.
Expunging a Prostitution Conviction
Prostitution convictions can have significant ramifications that follow long after incarceration or probation is over. It is often a record that hinders you from getting a job because many employers are reluctant to hire people with criminal convictions. Similarly, finding housing is a challenge. Landlords could view your record as a liability. Moreover, a conviction can damage your social life, adversely affect relationships, and subject you to ongoing stigma.
You can address these lasting effects by applying for expungement. Expungement is a legal remedy that helps you move past a criminal record's restrictions. When granted, it removes your conviction from public view so you can have a clean slate in most professional and personal situations. It can drastically increase your chances for employment and housing and ease some of the social stigma of a conviction.
You qualify for expungement if you meet specific requirements. Generally, you have to have completed your probation without any new legal problems at that time. Courts also assess whether you fulfilled all sentencing obligations, like paying the fine, completing the court-ordered program, or community service. It is important to consult with a skilled attorney who will help you assess your eligibility for the program and guide you through the process.
What Senate Bill 233 Means for Sex Workers
SB 233 protects sex workers. According to the law, police officers cannot arrest or charge you simply because they see you carrying condoms. Thanks to this law, you can prioritize your health and safety without worrying about ending up in legal trouble for taking basic precautions.
The law also provides you with immunity from arrest for some minor offenses, including sex work or drug possession, if you report more serious crimes like assault or human trafficking. If you speak up, you do not have to fear being arrested and subsequently prosecuted. SB 233 protects your right to protect yourself and to be in a safe environment.
Find a Criminal Defense Attorney Near Me
Prostitution charges carry profound implications, threatening your freedom and reputation. However, that does not mean you cannot challenge and resolve these claims in your favor. This is possible with a strategic approach and the help of an experienced criminal defense attorney. The evidence and the procedural errors are not always straightforward. However, it is possible to find weaknesses in the evidence or procedural errors that can make a difference in the case.
At The Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney, we develop personalized defenses specific to your case's facts. Our experienced attorneys analyze every detail, build a compelling argument that stands up to scrutiny, and represent you in court. We are here to protect your rights and guide and support you during this crucial time. If you would like a confidential consultation, please contact us at 310-564-2605.
