Tyler & WIlson, LLP PROFESSIONAL - PRACTICAL - PERSONAL
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| Arthur Khachatourians Los Angeles Criminal Defense Attorney 5455 Wilshire Boulevard, Suite 1925, Los Angeles, California 90036 Firm: (323) 655-7180 Direct: (818) 590-8294 Fax: (323) 655-7122 ak@tyler-law.com Mr. Khachatourians represents clients throughout Southern California (CA) including, but not limited to, the following courthouses: Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, Alhambra Courthouse, Airport Courthouse, Antelope Valley - Antonovich Courthouse, Bauchet - Central Arraignment Court, Bellflower Courthouse, Beverly Hills Courthouse, Burbank Courthouse, Chatsworth Courthouse, Compton Courthouse, Downey Courthouse, El Monte Courthouse, East Los Angeles Courthouse, Glendale Courthouse Felony and Misdemeanor, Hollywood Courthouse, Inglewood Courthouse, Long Beach Courthouse, Malibu Courthouse, Metropolitan Courthouse, Norwalk Courthouse, Pasadena Courthouse, Pomona Courthouse, San Fernando Courthouse, Santa Clarita Courthouse, Santa Monica Courthouse, Torrance Courthouse, Van Nuys Courthouse, West Covina Courthouse, West Los Angeles Courthouse, Whittier Courthouse, Lancaster Juvenile Courthouse, Alfred J. McCourtney Juvenile Justice Center, Delinquency & Dependency Court,Eastlake Juvenile Courthouse, Inglewood Juvenile Courthouse, Kenyon Juvenile Justice Center - Delinquency Court, Los Padrinos Juvenile Courthouse, Sylmar Juvenile Courthouse, Long Beach Juvenile and other criminal courthouses located in Orange County, San Bernardino, and Riverside. |
| Key terms associated with Prostitution:
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| Key Definitions Related to Los Angeles Prostitution, Solicitation, and Escorting Charges: |
- Solicitation - Solicitation is defined as the act of
requesting another person to engage in an act of prostitution,
with the intent to engage in the act of prostitution.
- Prostitution - Prostitution is defined under California
Penal Code section 653.20 as engaging in sexual conduct for
money or other consideration. When the alleged prostitute
and the alleged customer engage in sexual intercourse or lewd
acts in exchange for money or other consideration, both of
them can be charged for engaging in an act of prostitution. A
lewd act means touching the genitals, buttocks, or female
breast of either the prostitute or customer with some part of
the other person's body for the purpose of sexual arousal or
gratification of either person. Someone commits an act
willfully when he or she does it willingly or on purpose.
- Loitering - Loitering with the intent to commit prostitution
is defined as the delay or lingering in a public place with the
intent to commit prostitution. Repeatedly beckoned to,
stopped, engaged in conversations with, or attempted to stop
or engage in conversations with passersby in a way that
indicated the solicitation of prostitution. Repeatedly stopped or
attempted to stop vehicles by hailing, waving, or gesturing, or
engaged or attempted to engage drivers or passengers in
conversation, in a way that indicated the solicitation of
prostitution. Circled an area in a vehicle and repeatedly
beckoned to, contacted, or attempted to contact or stop
pedestrians or other motorists in a way that indicated the
solicitation of prostitution. Has engaged in any behavior
indicative of prostitution activity within the six months before
their arrest in this case. Has been convicted of this crime or
of any other crime relating to or involving prostitution within
five years of their arrest in this case.
- Pimping - California Penal Code section 266(h) defines
pimping as any person who, knowing another person is a
prostitute, lives or derives support or maintenance in whole or
in part from the earnings or proceeds of the person's
prostitution, or from money loaned or advanced to or charged
against that person by any keeper or manager or inmate of a
house or other place where prostitution is practiced or
allowed, or who solicits or receives compensation for
soliciting for the person, is guilty of pimping. Pimping is a
felony, and is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison
for three, four, or six years.
- Sting Operations - Sting Operations are very common
in the cities of Los Angeles, Hollywood, and Van Nuys. A
male police officer acts as a customer and befriends the
alleged prostitute to engage in sex for money or a female
officer poses as a street prostitute or a private escort to lure a
man ("the John") to the "take down room." In California,
both the alleged prostitute and the "John" are aggressively
prosecuted for solicitation and intent to engage in
prostitution. The alleged prostitute may also be charged with
escorting without a license. Penalties can range from
community service, county jail, probation, AIDS testing,
fines, counseling, Cal Trans, and jail enhancements.
- "The John" - The customer of a prostitute is referred to
as "the John." Sting operations are set up where female vice
officers pretend to be prostitutes and solicit the male
customer to the hotel/motel room (the take down room)
where the defendant is arrested.
- Call Girl - Whether the advertisement states "Call Girl,"
"Escort," or "Erotic Massage," the act of exchanging money
or any other form of consideration in exchange for sexual
arousal is a crime. Advertisements for erotic services,
escorts, and massages, are routinely targeted by law
enforcement. With the increase in Internet usage, law
enforcement officers are routinely reviewing websites and
erotic profiles. Escort websites that state "ROSES,"
"FLOWERS," "DONATION" or "KISSES" are NOT a
defense but circumstantial evidence of your intent to engage
in sex for money.
- Escorting without a Permit - Escorting without a
permit is a Los Angeles Municipal Code violation that is
charged in connection to an arrest for prostitution. Los
Angeles Municipal Code section 103.107 states that "[n]o
person shall conduct, manage or carry on any escort bureau
without a written permit from the Board." No escorting permit
will be issued to the individual unless the Board is furnished
with satisfactory evidence of the good moral character of
such escort. Vice officers frequently arrest females and
charge them with escorting without a permit and prostitution.
The defendant's classified or Internet advertisement is used as
circumstantial evidence of her intent to engage in an act of
escorting without a permit and/or prostitution.
- 420 Busts - 420 is the way to express the acceptance of
smoking marijuana. Using the term “420 friendly” on
personal advertisements in exchange for sexual conduct is
illegal. Los Angeles Vice Officers set sting operations and use
common 420 advertisements such as, “I am 420 Friendly &
Very Nice, Easy to talk to & Fun” to arrest individuals for
solicitation of prostitution.
- Entrapment - Entrapment is a defense. A person is
entrapped if a law enforcement officer engaged in conduct
that would cause a normal law-abiding person to commit the
crime. Some examples of entrapment might include conduct
like badgering, persuasion by flattery or coaxing, repeated and
insistent requests, or an appeal to friendship or sympathy.
Another example of entrapment would be conduct that would
make commission of the crime unusually attractive to a
normal law-abiding person. Such conduct might include a
guarantee that the act is not illegal or that the offense would
go undetected, an offer of extraordinary benefit, or other
similar conduct.