Birmingham Prostitution Defense Lawyer

Prostitution Charges

Under Alabama’s prostitution laws, it is illegal to perform or engage in any type of sexual activity in exchange for money or some other form of compensation. Prostitution charges will be filed against anyone who agrees or offers to engage in sexual activity for money-whether or not the parties actually engage in sex or sex acts is irrelevant.

If you have been arrested for prostitution, it is important to speak with an experienced Alabama sex crime attorney right away. Depending on the severity of your charges, you could be facing long-term imprisonment, steep fines totaling thousands of dollars, and registration as a sex offender, possibly for life. Alabama Criminal Lawyers, we have experience defending clients against all types of prostitution crimes, including:

• Hiring a prostitute
• Working as a prostitute
• Soliciting, compelling, or coercing another person to engage in prostitution
• Cause or aid a person to commit or engage in prostitution
• Procure or solicit patrons for prostitution
• Provide a premises for the purpose of prostitution
• Provide persons for the purpose of prostitution
• Accept money or anything else of value made from prostitution
• Operate a brothel, prostitution house, or prostitution enterprise

Solicitation of a Prostitute

Under the law of the state of Alabama, it is illegal for anyone to solicit prostitution. A person is considered to solicit a prostitute if the individual knowingly exchanges money or another item of value with another in a public place in exchange for sexual conduct. An individual can be charged with the solicitation of a prostitute even without engaging in the sexual act because Alabama law prohibits the agreement to exchange a sexual act for compensation.

Defending Against A Solicitation Charge in Birmingham, AL

There are several available defenses that are used by individuals in the state of Alabama to defend against solicitation of a prostitute charges. These defenses include:

• The State Has Failed To Present Sufficient Evidence. The state of Alabama must demonstrate that an individual knowingly solicited another to perform sex acts by presenting evidence that money or something of value was offered in exchange for these acts. The state must also demonstrate that the solicitation occurred in public. Many individuals are able to successfully defend against solicitation charges by arguing that the state has failed to present a sufficient amount of evidence.
• Entrapment. If an individual was accused of solicitation as part of a sting operation or law enforcement was disguised as a prostitute, an individual might be able to argue entrapment, which is a valid defense. Entrapment is a complicated matter which will depend upon analyzing the individual facts of a situation.
• Lack Of Knowledge. Another defense is arguing that an individual was unaware that the other person was a prostitute, which means that the individual was not aware that solicitation was being performed.
• The Individual Was Not Serious. Individuals are often able to defend against a solicitation charge by arguing that the individual did not have the intent to commit the act and was merely joking.
• A Nonsexual Trade. Because solicitation involves the exchange of sex, individuals can sometimes claim that the services exchanged were not sexual in nature.
• A Violation Of Constitutional Rights. By arguing that an individual’s constitutional rights were violated during the arrest or interrogation process, individuals are often able to successfully defend against a solicitation charge.

Aiding a Prostitute

Alabama law prohibits a person from causing or aiding an individual in committing the act of prostitution. There is no requirement that an individual must receive money from the prostitution of another in order to be convicted of this offense. Some of the various ways in which an individual can cause or aid the prostitution of another are:

• Repeated communication with the prostitute.
• Monitoring the prostitute from a short distance.
• Attempting to generate the interest of others in the prostitute. Sometimes an individual might ask others to meet with the prostitute or advertising the availability of a prostitute to others. Other times, an individual might stop drivers or pedestrians with intention of prostituting the individual.
• Receiving money or valuable items from another individual who is engaging in prostitution.

Penalties For Aiding A Prostitute

Individuals who are charged with aiding a prostitute face potential penalties of up to one year in jail and fine of up to six thousand dollars.

Potential Defenses

There are several available defenses for individuals who are charged with aiding a prostitute. The basis of aiding a prostitute revolves around demonstrating intent so many of these defenses attempt to argue that an individual had no intent to cause such activity or was not aware that such activity was occurring.

• Mistake Of Fact. A mistake of fact occurs when an individual aids or assists prostitution unknowingly. For example, an individual might receive money from an individual without being aware that this money was generated through acts of prostitution. With this type of defense, a court of law will analyze whether a reasonable person would have made the same mistake.
• Credible Explanation. Other times, an individual might argue that the individual had a credible explanation for the individual’s behavior besides aiding prostitution. Individuals who do not have a criminal record involving prostitution or similar activities frequently have an easier time arguing for lack of intent than individuals who do have such a criminal record.
• Entrapment. When law enforcement directly causes an individual to engage in illegal activity, the defense of entrapment might exist. For example, law enforcement might coerce an individual into helping someone engage in the act of prostitution. An entrapment charge requires the assistance of a strong criminal defense attorney.

Providing Prostitute Premise

Individuals who rent apartments must be careful of who is select as a tenant. When individuals decide to rent a location to an individual who engages in prostitution-related services, an individual can be found guilty of a crime even though the individual does not personally engage in prostitution.

Alabama Law

Even if you were not directly involved in prostitution, law in the state of Alabama makes it illegal for an individual to provide persons or premises for the purposes of prostitution. To be convicted of this offense, an individual must have possession or control of a premise which the individuals knows is being used for the purposes of prostitution. The individual must also fail to take efforts to prevent such activity.

Proof that a landlord is aware of prostitution can be either constructive or actual. An example of constructive proof would be if a reasonable person would have known that prostitution was occurring at the premise, while actual proof would be any documentation like a text message that demonstrates the landlord was aware of prostitution at the location.

Penalties

Providing premises that are used for prostitution is considered a Class A misdemeanor, which is punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to six thousand dollars.

Individuals should be cautious that providing a premise for prostitution does not rise to the level of soliciting prostitution, which can result in even more significant penalties. Landlords also need to be aware of other elements that increase penalties that can be faced by this charge.

Some additional aggravating factors include when a landlord rents a premise that is used by two or more premises, the prostitute in question is compelled by force or intimidation to engage in prostitution, or the prostitute is under the age of eighteen.

Defending Against Such A Charge

The most common way that individuals defend against charges of providing a premise to be used for prostitution is arguing that the individual was not aware that prostitution was occurring at the location. Landlords can also argue that law enforcement has failed to prevent a sufficient enough amount of evidence to demonstrate that the landlord was aware prostitution was occurring.

Another common defense is arguing that prostitution did not actually occur at the premise. Other times, landlords are able to defend against such charges by arguing that the law enforcement investigation in question violated the landlord’s constitutional rights and that evidence about the offense was unlawfully obtained. Landlords are unable to defend against such a charge by arguing that the landlord did not benefit from the act of prostitution.

Contact An Experienced Prostitution Defense Attorney

Many of these offenses warrant strict legal penalties, especially if children were involved. If you are facing prostitution charges in Birmingham, Montgomery, Columbiana, or anywhere else in Alabama, we urge you to contact Alabama Criminal Lawyers right away.

We have defended many clients against all types of prostitution crimes. We can review the charges and evidence being brought against you to see if your constitutional rights were violated or if a flaw exists with the prosecution’s case-both which can be used to get your charges reduced to a lesser offense or dismissed completely.

Helping you avoid a conviction that will remain on your permanent record and possibly destroy your reputation is our number one priority!

Contact Alabama Criminal Lawyers today at (205) 981-2450 for a free consultation.