Montgomery County Criminal Defense Attorney - Prostitution Charges

Montgomery County Criminal Defense Attorney - Prostitution Charges - Brian Foley - Board Certified Criminal Defense Attorney.

The Montgomery County District Clerk calls it SOLICIT PROST/OTHER PAYOR.

There has been a change in the law regarding prostitution charges as of September 1, 2021 it is no longer a class B misdemeanor to solicit prostitution. That level of offense has been changed to a State Jail Felony.

This means that if you are offering to receive money in exchange for sexual conduct you are punished less than if you are offering to pay money in exchange for sexual conduct. Typically this targets males and punishes them more harshly.

A Class B Misdemeanor Prostitution case is punishable by up to 180 days in jail and up to a $2000 fine while a State Jail Felony Solicitation of Prostitution case is punishable by up to 2 years in a State Jail facility and up to a $10,000 fine.

An offense is a third degree felony punishable by 2-10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine if you have been previously convicted or if the agreement is for someone under the age of 18 or who represented themselves to be under the age of 18. Additionally the new statute defines a conviction to include a plea of guilty that granted a deferred adjudication. That means that even if you complete a deferred adjudication probation and the case is dismissed the prosecutor could still enhance a future charge based on this granting of deferred.

Typically these cases come about because of what is called a "prostitution sting." This is where a police officer or multiple police officers will offer services of sexual conduct for a fee online in an attempt to attract people to solicit them for prostitution. They will agree on a meeting place and invite the person to that place. Once inside the person posing as the prostitute will enter the bathroom or leave the hotel room and that is when the remaining male police officers will come into the room and arrest the individual.

There is no obligation to make any statement to police before, during, or after the incident. If you or someone you know has been arrested for Solicitation of Prostitution.

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Sec. 43.02.  PROSTITUTION.
(a)  A person commits an offense if the person knowingly offers or agrees to receive a fee from another to engage in sexual conduct.
(b-1)  Repealed by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 685 (H.B. 29), Sec. 44(2), eff. September 1, 2017.
(c)  An offense under Subsection (a) is a Class B misdemeanor, except that the offense is:
(1)  a Class A misdemeanor if the actor has previously been convicted one or two times of an offense under Subsection (a); or
(2)  a state jail felony if the actor has previously been convicted three or more times of an offense under Subsection (a).
(c-2)  The punishment prescribed for an offense under Subsection (b) is increased to the punishment prescribed for the next highest category of offense if it is shown on the trial of the offense that the actor committed the offense in a location that was:
(1)  on the premises of or within 1,000 feet of the premises of a school; or
(2)  on premises or within 1,000 feet of premises where:
(A)  an official school function was taking place; or
(B)  an event sponsored or sanctioned by the University Interscholastic League was taking place.
(d)  It is a defense to prosecution for an offense under Subsection (a) that the actor engaged in the conduct that constitutes the offense because the actor was the victim of conduct that constitutes an offense under Section 20A.02 or 43.05.
(e)  A  conviction may be used for purposes of enhancement under this section or enhancement under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, but not under both this section and Subchapter D, Chapter 12.  For purposes of enhancement of penalties under this section or Subchapter D, Chapter 12, a defendant is previously convicted of an offense under this section if the defendant was adjudged guilty of the offense or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return for a grant of deferred adjudication, regardless of whether the sentence for the offense was ever imposed or whether the sentence was probated and the defendant was subsequently discharged from community supervision.
Acts 1973, 63rd Leg., p. 883, ch. 399, Sec. 1, eff. Jan. 1, 1974.  Amended by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 757, ch. 286, Sec. 1, eff. May 27, 1977;  Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 900, Sec. 1.01, eff. Sept. 1, 1994;  Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 987, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 2001.
Amended by: 
Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 1002 (H.B. 4009), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2009.
Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 515 (H.B. 2014), Sec. 4.02, eff. September 1, 2011.
Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1252 (H.B. 8), Sec. 15, eff. September 1, 2013.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 332 (H.B. 10), Sec. 14, eff. September 1, 2015.
Acts 2015, 84th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1273 (S.B. 825), Sec. 1, eff. September 1, 2015.
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 685 (H.B. 29), Sec. 36, eff. September 1, 2017.
Reenacted and amended by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 685 (H.B. 29), Sec. 37, eff. September 1, 2017.
Amended by: 
Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 685 (H.B. 29), Sec. 44(2), eff. September 1, 2017.
Reenacted and amended by Acts 2017, 85th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1038 (H.B. 1808), Sec. 8, eff. September 1, 2017.
Amended by: 
Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 413 (S.B. 20), Sec. 2.05, eff. September 1, 2019.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 807 (H.B. 1540), Sec. 29, eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 807 (H.B. 1540), Sec. 61, eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1049 (S.B. 1831), Sec. 9, eff. September 1, 2021.

Sec. 43.021.  SOLICITATION OF PROSTITUTION.  (a)  A person commits an offense if the person knowingly offers or agrees to pay a fee to another person for the purpose of engaging in sexual conduct with that person or another.
(b)  An offense under Subsection (a) is a state jail felony, except that the offense is:
(1)  a felony of the third degree if the actor has previously been convicted of an offense under Subsection (a) or under Section 43.02(b), as that law existed before September 1, 2021; or
(2)  a felony of the second degree if the person with whom the actor agrees to engage in sexual conduct is:
(A)  younger than 18 years of age, regardless of whether the actor knows the age of the person at the time of the offense;
(B)  represented to the actor as being younger than 18 years of age; or
(C)  believed by the actor to be younger than 18 years of age.
(c)  A conviction may be used for purposes of enhancement under this section or enhancement under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, but not under both this section and that subchapter. For purposes of enhancement of penalties under this section or Subchapter D, Chapter 12, a defendant is considered to have been previously convicted of an offense under this section or under Section 43.02(b), as that law existed before September 1, 2021, if the defendant was adjudged guilty of the offense or entered a plea of guilty or nolo contendere in return for a grant of deferred adjudication, regardless of whether the sentence for the offense was ever imposed or whether the sentence was probated and the defendant was subsequently discharged from community supervision.
Added by Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 807 (H.B. 1540), Sec. 28, eff. September 1, 2021.
Amended by: 
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 807 (H.B. 1540), Sec. 29, eff. September 1, 2021.
Acts 2021, 87th Leg., R.S., Ch. 807 (H.B. 1540), Sec. 30, eff. September 1, 2021.