Solicitation for prostitution is a criminal offense punishable as a misdemeanor. Most prosecutions originate from sting operations employed by the police to catch either the customer, referred to as a "john", or the prostitute.
Two types of stings can be utilized. The first is an Internet sting that is usually placed on back page, Craigslist, city vibe or the like, in the adult entertainment and escort sections. These operations are intended to catch the john looking for sex on the Internet. In Los Angeles, most operations use a fake ad created by a police officer which contains specific wording that can be later used as evidence of the user's intent such as sexually explicit wording.
The second kind of undercover operation uses police that call real ads with the intent to catch the prostitute in the act. Attorney Matthew Ruff is very familiar with the tactics used by law enforcement and knows how to defend these types of crimes.
The crime of prostitution is actually made up of three different types of conduct that can be prosecuted under Penal Code section b.
The offense can be proved one of 3 ways 1. The offender solicits another to commit and act of sex for money, 2. The accused enters into an agreement with another to engage in a sex act lewd act for money, they possess the requisite intent and they commit an act in furtherance of the agreement.
