Rockville Solicitation and Prostitution Attorneys
Experienced Attorneys Ready to Fight for You
Solicitation and Prostitution Attorneys in Rockville
Charged with prostitution, assignation, or solicitation in Maryland? The good news is that many jurisdictions have diversion programs. This means that if you were charged in one of those jurisdictions, you are almost certain to have a clean record after the closure of the case.
- For a first offense, most of the time you can avoid a conviction by participating in a local diversion program, especially in Montgomery or Prince George’s County.
- If the charges are dismissed, even by doing a program, you can have the prostitution charges dismissed and expunged (removed) from your criminal record. Once the charges are expunged, they will no longer be on your Maryland Criminal record.
- As your Maryland Prostitution Attorneys, Krum, Gergely & Oates, always does your expungement free. We want all of our clients to maintain a clean record.
- Even if this is not your first offense, or if you don’t wish to do community service, as experienced Maryland Prostitution attorneys, we can file Motions with the court to have the case dismissed for a number of reasons, including a faulty statement of charges.
- In rare cases, the police use entrapment in Maryland prostitution stings, which is illegal, and the Judge should dismiss the case.
- The penalty for Maryland Prostitution or Solicitation is a misdemeanor conviction and is subject to imprisonment not exceeding 1 year and/or a fine not exceeding $500 or both.
- Police often use stings to charge large numbers of people.
How We Defend Against Prostitution or Solicitations Charges
At Krum, Gergely & Oates, our number one priority is keeping our clients’ records as clean as possible. As experienced criminal defense attorneys with a combined experience of over 40 years, we know the toll that a criminal record can take on a person’s ability to provide for themselves and their family. We are here to listen to you, to answer your questions, and to layout all the options for you, while recommending the best course of action. We know from experience what judges we believe to be the best for trial, for a plea, for a motion to dismiss, and what prosecutors will work with us to come to the most favorable resolution of your case. That is the advantage of hiring an attorney who is in court almost everyday as we are at Krum, Gergely & Oates, LLC. We look forward to you contacting us here on our site or calling us at 301.840.0080 for more information.
If you would like to read more about Prostitution and Solicitation charges, see below.
Diversion
Many Maryland jurisdictions (Montgomery County and Prince George’s Counties especially) have diversion programs for prostitution. Both Montgomery and Prince George’s counties require that a Defendant complete community service hours and some prosecutors may require additional programs. What this means is that if a Defendant is willing to complete the program conditions, the charges against will be dismissed and the Defendant will be able to erase or expunge the charges as if the case never happened.
Entrapment
If a Defendant was simply walking down the street and was approached by someone to perform a sexual act in exchange for money and the person turned out to be a police officer, this is entrapment, and illegal. Police are not permitted to trick someone into committing a crime to secure a conviction.
Faulty Statement of Charges
Maryland Prosititution & Solicitation Key definitions from Maryland Code § 11-301:
“Prostitution” means the performance of a sexual act, sexual contact, or vaginal intercourse for hire.
“Solicit” means urging, advising, inducing, encouraging, requesting, or commanding another.
“Assignation” means the making of an appointment or engagement for prostitution or any act in furtherance of the appointment or engagement.
As you can see above, the definitions are confusing. Just as they are confusing to a civilian, they are often likewise confusing to officers and even some prosecutors. For example, if someone asks another to perform a sexual act, they are not guilty of prostitution, but instead are guilty of solicitation of prostitution. If someone just makes an appointment and nothing else, they could be guilty of solicitation of prostitution, but the more appropriate charge would be assignation, but we don’t very often see the police using this part of the code to charge defendants.
Police Stings for Prostitution and Solicitation
Police sometimes use the internet in their prostitution and solicitation stings. Backpage.com was shutdown, but we have seen clients recently been charged where the police were using a site called eros.com. The police will post an ad using provocative pictures, and a police officer will pose on the phone offering services at a hotel or casino. Once the person is inside and pays the fee, the police arrest the Defendant.
Sometimes the police will do almost the exact opposite as the example above. They will setup surveillance on a hotel being used for prostitution and watch the hotel room for people coming and going. Once someone leaves the hotel room they are watching, the person is stopped and questioned by the police, usually providing the police with a full confession. In both examples, it is extremely important that the person make no statements to the police. In this second scenario, it is almost impossible for the Defendant to be convicted unless the Defendant makes a statement to the police.
As experienced solicitation and prostitution lawyers that have handled thousands of prostitution or solicitation cases, we here at Krum, Gergely & Oates, LLC have seen a variety of stings used by police to charge people with solicitation or prostitution. If you’re facing any of these charges, call us TODAY. We can help.