Prostitution

Georgia prostitution charges can apply to anyone who engages in prostitution itself or those who act in furthering prostitution services. Penalties can be severe and include spending time in prison, paying significant fines, and possibly having to register as a sex offender – which can seriously affect your ability to find employment, rent an apartment, or take out loans for educational purposes.

If you have been charged with prostitution or another offense related to prostitution, contact a Cobb County prostitution lawyer who understands the laws, knows how local judges regard them, and can negotiate effectively with local prosecutors and protect your rights simultaneously. See what a qualified attorney can do for you today.

According to Georgia Code Sec. 16-6-9, a person can be convicted of prostitution when they perform, offer, consent to, or perform a sexual act, including but not limited to sexual intercourse or sodomy, for money or other items of value such as gifts or favors. Georgia recognizes crimes of both prostitution and solicitation. Prostitution is the performance, offer, or consent to perform an act of sexual intercourse for money. Solicitation is seeking sexual services for hire. In addition, Georgia law recognizes many forms of prostitution offenses in addition to engaging in the act of prostitution itself, including:

• Keeping a place of prostitution. This essentially refers to having control over or giving permission to use a building or place where prostitution can occur. While this can certainly be a “brothel,” it can also be someone’s apartment or home.
• Masturbation for hire. This is described as hiring and paying someone for the “erotic stimulation of the genitals” through bodily contact, the use of instruments, or other ways – other than the act of sexual intercourse.
• Pandering. This is soliciting someone to engage in prostitution or assembling people to engage in prostitution.
• Pimping. This generally includes any act of offering, procuring, or arranging prostitution for money.
• Solicitation. This involves seeking sexual services for hire. It is important to keep in mind that solicitation of anyone under the age of 17 is a felony in Georgia.

While Georgia’s penalties for prostitution are generally considered misdemeanors, those penalties will vary greatly depending on someone’s prior criminal history and the type of prostitution charges at issue. However, Georgia prostitution penalties generally include paying fines, spending time in prison, being subjected to extended periods of probation, performing community service, having to attend sexual education programs, and possibly having to register as a sex offender.

If you have been charged with committing prostitution or with being connected to prostitution in any way, do not face those charges alone; contact an experienced Cobb County prostitution lawyer for help. Having a criminal record for prostitution can be embarrassing – especially when a conviction is part of your criminal background and can be made available to potential employers, landlords, and financial institutions.

More and more individuals and businesses require criminal background checks today as they have become less expensive and are an easy way to find out more about someone’s background. Make sure you explore all of the legal defenses and options available to you as it may be possible to have the charges against you dismissed or mitigated through a plea bargain. Talk to an experienced Cobb County prostitution attorney today to fight for your rights.