Business Law 101 / PROSTITUTION

By Albert Kelley

WARNING: THIS COLUMN DEALS WITH ISSUES OF A MATURE NATURE. 

Last week’s column discussed sexual battery.  This week we are looking at prostitution. One of the interesting aspects of the statute is that it does not apply to situations involving adults and minors.  By law, those situations are handled under the sexual battery statute simply because prostitution requires consent and under the law, minors are not able to consent.

Prostitution is a unique statute in that it is enforced not only against the people involved, but can also result in charges against their family and their landlord.  Prostitution is simply the giving or receiving of sexual activity for hire, as long as the people are not married (prostitution cannot be committed between married couples).   But the law is much broader than that. It also discusses lewdness, which is not clearly defined. Lewdness means “any indecent or obscene act”. However, what is indecent or obscene to one person may not be to another.  The statute treats prostitution and lewdness pretty much the same. 

The act of prostitution or actions of lewdness are illegal as is hiring someone for prostitution. It is illegal to own or operate a building for prostitution.  That means that the owner of a building, along with their property manager can be charged with a crime if they know prostitution is occurring. It is also illegal to invite someone into the property to perform prostitution or lewd services.  It is illegal to try to find a prostitute for another person or find someone to commit a lewd act. And it is illegal to transport someone for the purposes of prostitution or lewd services. 

In addition to the foregoing, as mentioned above, the offense can also affect family. Spouses, adult children or anyone else who knowingly are supported by the earnings of prostitution can be charged with a crime.  

Because prostitution is often a way of making a living and thus not often a one-time crime, the statute has a sliding scale penalty.  For most actions under the statute, a first offense is deemed a second-degree misdemeanor; a second violation is a first-degree misdemeanor; and a third or more violation is a third-degree felony.   There is one action under the statute that has a heightened penalty. A person who solicits, entices or procures another person for prostitution is guilty of a first-degree misdemeanor for a first offense; a third-degree felony for the second offense and a second-degree felony for a third or subsequent offense. In addition, if the place where the prostitution or lewdness occurs is a massage business, the penalties increase by one level. Finally, if a person coerces, compels or forces a person to be a prostitute it is a third-degree felony.

A person who has been arrested under this statute may request to be tested for sexually transmitted diseases, however, every person convicted of a  violation under this statute must be screened for sexually transmitted disease and if infected must consent to treatment and counselling prior to being released from probation, community control or incarceration.  While normally these records are highly confidential, under the statute, a positive test can be released to the Department of Health and the State Attorney. If a person has previously tested positive for a sexually transmitted disease (except HIV) and knowing that commits or procures a person for prostitution, they have committed a first-degree misdemeanor.  If they have tested positive for HIV and commit prostitution or procures someone for prostitution, they have committed a third-degree felony. These charges are in addition to the prostitution charges. 

Al Kelley is a Florida business law attorney located in Key West and previously taught business law, personnel law and labor law at St. Leo University.  He is also the author of four law books: (“Basics of Business Law” “Basics of Florida’s Small Claims Court”, “Basics of Florida’s Landlord/Tenant Law” and “Basics of Starting a Florida Business” (Absolutely Amazing e-Books)). This article is being offered as a public service and is not intended to provide specific legal advice.  If you have any questions about legal issues, you should confer with a licensed Florida attorney.

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