Los Angeles Prostitution & Solicitation of Prostitution Defense Attorneys

We Represent the Rights of Individuals Accused of Prostitution or Soliciting Prostitution

California Penal Code section 647(b) addresses adult prostitution, solicitation and agreement allegations; the exact subsection and evidence matter. An ordinary adult section 647(b) conviction is a misdemeanor and does not itself impose a universal sex-registration duty. A different charged sex offense, including a minor-related offense, may have separate consequences. Jail, fines, probation or collateral effects depend on the actual count and disposition:

  • Jail time (in some cases, mandatory minimums)
  • Significant fines
  • Community service
  • Supervised probation

Fortunately, in many instances, the representation of a lawyer can help you avoid the most severe penalties associated with these crimes and may even result in prosecution dropping its case against you entirely.

At the Law Office of David S. Chesley, we are committed to providing aggressive and solution-oriented criminal defense services to people accused of prostitution, solicitation of prostitution, and a variety of other serious crimes. We know what it takes to obtain a positive result and are never afraid to take a case to trial if it is in the best interest of our client. To schedule your free consultation with a Los Angeles prostitution defense attorney, call our office today at 800-755-5174 or send us an email through our online contact form.

California penal code 647(b) criminalizes three distinct acts related to prostitution, which are detailed below.

Engaging Prostitution in California

In California, a person is guilty of prostitution if he or she engaged in a "lewd act" in exchange for money or some other form of compensation. A lewd act is an act that involves touching the genitals, buttocks, or female breasts of another person with the specific intent to arouse or gratify someone sexually. Both prostitutes and customers can engage in prostitution.

Solicitation of Prostitution in California

Solicitation of prostitution occurs when an individual request that another person engage in an act of prostitution and that the requesting individual actually intends to engage in the act. In order to obtain a conviction, the prosecution must prove the intent element. This is often accomplished by introducing evidence that the person accused of solicitation showed other person cash, drugs, or something else of value. Again, both customers and prostitutes can commit the offense of solicitation of prostitution.

Agreeing to Engage in an Act of Prostitution

Finally, 647(b) prohibits agreeing to an act of prostitution. In order to convict a person of this offense, the prosecution must show that the individual agreed to engage in an act of prostitution, he or she intended to engage in an act of prostitution, and that he or she engaged in some act to further the commission of an act of prostitution. Both customers and prostitutes can agree to engage in an act of prostitution.

Other Crimes Related to Prostitution: Pimping & Pandering in California

California Penal Code 266(h) prohibits pimping. Pimping is defined as knowingly receiving financial support of maintenance for a prostitute or receiving or attempting to receive compensation for helping a prostitute find customers.

On the other hand, California Penal Code 266(i) prohibits pandering, which occurs when someone:

  • Procures another person for prostitution
  • Encourages, persuades, or induces, or causes someone to become a prostitute
  • Gets someone a place in a house of prostitution
  • Encourages someone to keep working in a house of prostitution
  • Procures another person for the purposes of prostitution, to enter a place where prostitution is encouraged, or to enter or leave the state for the purposes of prostitution by fraud, artifice, duress, or the abuse of a position of confidence or authority
  • Gives, receives, or agrees to receive any compensation for persuading someone to become a prostitute.

Supervising or Aiding a Prostitute

Anyone who assists another person to commit an act of prostitution may be accused of Supervising or Aiding a Prostitute under PC 653.23. Some examples of actions that would likely fall within this category include:

  • Driving your friend to meet a prostitute
  • Offering to help a prostitute find customers

The penalties for supervising or aiding a prostitute are the same as solicitation or prostitution.

Penalties and Records for a Penal Code Section 647(b) Charge

A standard adult prostitution, solicitation, or agreement allegation under Penal Code section 647(b) is a misdemeanor. The statute has distinct clauses for engaging in an act, soliciting, and agreeing followed by an act in furtherance. An agreement count raises a distinct question about the act said to further it. Proof and available sentence depend on the actual count, circumstances, qualifying prior and any other filed offense. Do not assume a mandatory 45- or 90-day custody term automatically applies to every second or third adult section 647(b) conviction; the current statute and particular record control.

Penal Code section 647 also addresses special circumstances, including solicitation of a minor under subdivision (l), with separate rules. A person who was under 18 when solicited to engage in prostitution is treated differently by subdivision (b)(5). Those distinctions matter when the investigation involves an undercover officer, a purported minor, or a person who may have been exploited. The complaint and relevant statute must be read together, rather than treating every transaction as the same offense.

Can a vehicle, license, or local rule change the result?

Vehicle use or location may matter under a separate applicable law or local ordinance, but there is no reason to assume a driver's license is automatically suspended because a car appeared in an adult section 647(b) allegation. Identify the actual cited provision and whether the prosecutor has charged it. A vehicle forfeiture claim requires its own legal basis and process. Counsel should review the alleged location, the ordinances in effect, the arrest paperwork, and any notice about the vehicle or license before making a decision.

What may a conviction mean outside court?

A criminal record can raise employment, licensing, housing, school, or immigration questions, but the answer depends on the conviction, the disclosure question, applicable record-relief law, and the decision maker's rules. Ordinary adult section 647(b) is not itself a universal lifetime sex-registration offense. Some different sex-related or minor-solicitation convictions can have registration rules, so any proposed plea must be checked by count. California record relief can change how a conviction is treated in some settings, but it does not erase every record or end every duty.

Employers and schools do not all use the same rules, and an at-will employment relationship does not mean every employer will or lawfully may terminate an employee for this charge. A licensing board may have its own reporting rules. For noncitizens, state dismissal or a reduced charge does not establish an immigration-safe outcome. Ask counsel to address those consequences before a plea, especially if the original count involves a minor or another offense.

Which evidence should be tested before a plea?

The defense should identify who proposed the act, what was said about compensation, whether the accused intended an act covered by section 647(b), and whether the required additional step occurred in an agreement theory. Preserve the full messages or recording, body-camera and surveillance footage, arrest report, and any evidence of mistaken identity. An undercover operation does not by itself establish entrapment, and an entrapment claim needs evidence of legally significant police inducement. A search challenge also depends on how evidence was obtained. Counsel can compare those facts with the charged subsection and any realistic disposition; no dismissal or reduction is promised.

Are there Defenses Available?

Fortunately, there are often defenses available in prostitution cases. It can be difficult to know whether they apply without significant legal training, however, so you should always have your case reviewed by an experienced attorney before deciding to plead guilty. Here are some of the more common defenses raised in prostitution cases:

  • Insufficient evidence – In some cases, there may not be sufficient evidence to support a prostitution charge.
  • Police entrapment – Entrapment happens when the police get a person to commit a crime that they would not have committed in the absence of inducement. Defendants often raise the defense of entrapment in the context of police "stings" in which undercover officers pose as prostitutes or “johns” enticing others into soliciting or agreeing to engage in prostitution.
  • 4th Amendment Violations – If the police obtained the evidence against you through a search or seizure that violated your 4th Amendment rights, it can result in a judge declaring the evidence they gathered inadmissible in court. This can significantly weaken the prosecution's case against you and even result in the prosecution dropping the charges entirely.

It is important to keep in mind that many prostitution cases are resolved through the plea bargain process. This involves the defendant pleading guilty in return for a more lenient sentence or reduced charges. Many of these charge reductions allow a defendant to plead guilty to an offense that doesn’t carry the sexual stigma associated with prostitution, helping them avoid the ongoing collateral consequences discussed above. Importantly, negotiating a plea bargain is a complicated legal process, so it is crucial for anyone considering one to retain an experienced Los Angeles criminal defense lawyer to represent them immediately. Some of the charges to which a prostitution charge can be reduced to include the following:

Call Us Today to Speak with a Prostitution & Solicitation of Prostitution Defense Lawyer in California about Your Case

Documents to Check Before a Section 647(b) Decision

Request the complaint and its exact subdivision, citation or arrest report, any recorded offer or agreement, messages in their complete sequence, and any notice about a vehicle or separate local charge. In an agreement case, ask what act the prosecutor claims was done in furtherance; CALCRIM 1155 treats that as an element, not a detail to assume. In a solicitation case, review the alleged request and the accused person’s intent. A negotiated charge may change the criminal record, but its professional, immigration, or registration effect should be assessed from the final statute and disposition, not a verbal label such as “reduced.”