Prostitution is engaging in a sexual act in exchange for money or other goods or services. You are guilty of this crime under California law if you engage in prostitution or offer or agree to engage in the act. Law enforcement can arrest the prostitute, the customer, and the middleman. In order to be guilty of engaging in the act of prostitution, you have to have engaged in prostitution and done so willfully. Prostitution, solicitation, and agreeing to engage in an act of prostitution are all misdemeanor offenses.
If you are convicted of any of these crimes the penalties could include:. This is an offense where the punishment increases with each following offense. When convicted of your second prostitution or solicitation offense then the judge will sentence a minimum of forty-five days in a county jail.
If you are convicted of your third offense, then the judge must give a minimum of ninety days in a county jail. If this crime is committed while using a car and within 1, feet of a residence, then the judge may:.
Committing this crime does not require automatic sex offender registration but the judge may make registering as a part of your sentence. Failure to register as a sex offender is a separate felony. Having a prostitution conviction on your record can affect your career, reputation, and home life.
Here are a few of the most common legal defenses for this crime. The entrapment defense says that you are not guilty of the crime under these circumstances. This happens when the police have an undercover operation posing as prostitutes or customers and go after some they suspect.
