Dealing With Soliciting or Promoting Sexual Activity Charges

Being charged with solicitation, promoting sexual activity or prostitution charges can cause you serious trouble in your life for a very long time to come. Obviously there is a certain stigma attached to these particular kinds of charges, and even if you are facing a false accusation you may experience rifts in your personal relationships, problems at work or could even be denied a job or a professional license you have worked hard for should you be convicted. If you have been charged with any of these crimes it is extremely important that you hire an experienced criminal defense attorney who has a background in sex crimes to advocate for your rights and your future.

Your criminal defense attorney will have the necessary knowledge to ensure that your privacy is safeguarded to the extent possible and will work hard to obtain a final resolution to your case which can leave your reputation—and your dignity—intact. Time is absolutely of the essence in such cases, so don’t stick your head in the sand out of embarrassment, hoping the charges will go away on their own—they won’t and you will have further jeopardized your future.

Possible Defenses to Soliciting or Promoting Sexual Activity Charges

Your attorney will thoroughly explain to you the two basic aspects of your sex crime charges. There are potential questions of evidence or intent and possible mistakes on the part of the police which can affect the case against you, while if you should be convicted there are issues such as your personal history and background and state of your mental health which may be taken into consideration at sentencing. Your attorney will work with other experts including forensic experts, psychologists, private investigators and lab technicians to challenge the charges against you.

Some possible defenses your attorney may use, depending on the circumstances include:

1. The entrapment defense might be used in cases where police are carrying out undercover sting operations in an attempt to arrest those offering sexual services for money. A male police officer may pose as a customer, then reveal himself as a police officer and arrest the person. If the attorney can successfully prove that the person arrested was unfairly cajoled into committing an illegal act by a police, there may be a basis for arguing entrapment.
2. Your attorney may argue insufficient evidence since the prosecution is required by law to prove beyond a reasonable doubt you were breaking the prostitution, promoting sexual activity or soliciting charges in your particular state. If there were no witnesses to your alleged crime, then the prosecution may have greater difficulty proving their case. Courts are unwilling to convict defendants when there is insufficient evidence to fully prove their guilt.
3. Finally, your attorney may choose to use the “mistake” defense asserting you never intended to perform a sexual favor or trade sex for money or any other type of compensation. If, for example, someone hired an escort intending that the escort be only a date for the evening then the escort performed a sexual favor, then this might fall under the mistake defense.

Whatever defense you and your attorney decide to go with, you must be very careful to follow all your attorney’s instructions to the letter. Remember that your attorney has likely defended many cases such as yours and is fully aware of the process and the steps needed to achieve an acquittal, or at the very least reduced charges. Being convicted of these crimes can have far-reaching consequences which last a very long time and change your life in ways you could not have imagined. Not only could you face jail time or serious fines, you could lose your employment, your family and your reputation. Don’t wait to contact a criminal defense attorney—do it as soon as charges have been leveled against you or even if you think they might be.