Texas prostitution laws

[Sir Lancehernot]

Given some recent events, I thought it might be handy to post this. Might even merit a sticky. Though, as always, I think that many of the people who need to read it don't hang out here.

http://prostitution.procon.org/view....sourceID=764#3

§ 43.01: DEFINITIONS
In this subchapter:

(1) "Deviate sexual intercourse" means any contact between the genitals of one person and the mouth or anus of another person.
(2) "Prostitution" means the offense defined in Section 43.02.
(3) "Sexual contact" means any touching of the anus, breast, or any part of the genitals of another person with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person.
(4) "Sexual conduct" includes deviate sexual intercourse, sexual contact, and sexual intercourse.
(5) "Sexual intercourse" means any penetration of the female sex organ by the male sex organ.

§ 43.02: PROSTITUTION
(a) A person commits an offense if he knowingly:

(1) offers to engage, agrees to engage, or engages in sexual conduct for a fee; or

(2) solicits another in a public place to engage with him in sexual conduct for hire.

(b) An offense is established under Subsection (a)(1) whether the actor is to receive or pay a fee. An offense is established under Subsection (a)(2) whether the actor solicits a person to hire him or offers to hire the person solicited.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor, unless the actor has previously been convicted one or two times of an offense under this section, in which event it is a Class A misdemeanor. If the actor has previously been convicted three or more times of an offense under this section, the offense is a state jail felony.

§ 43.03: PROMOTION OF PROSTITUTION
(a) A person commits an offense if, acting other than as a prostitute receiving compensation for personally rendered prostitution services, he or she knowingly:

(1) receives money or other property pursuant to an agreement to participate in the proceeds of prostitution; or
(2) solicits another to engage in sexual conduct with another person for compensation.

(b) An offense under this section is a Class A misdemeanor.

§ 43.04: AGGRAVATED PROMOTION OF PROSTITUTION
(a) A person commits an offense if he knowingly owns, invests in, finances, controls, supervises, or manages a prostitution enterprise that uses two or more prostitutes.
(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the third degree.

§ 43.05: COMPELLING PROSTITUTION
(a) A person commits an offense if he knowingly:

(1) causes another by force, threat, or fraud to commit prostitution; or
(2) causes by any means a person younger than 17 years to commit prostitution.

(b) An offense under this section is a felony of the second degree.



§ 43.06: ACCOMPLICE WITNESS; TESTIMONY AND IMMUNITY
(a) A party to an offense under this subchapter may be required to furnish evidence or testify about the offense.
(b) A party to an offense under this subchapter may not be prosecuted for any offense about which he is required to furnish evidence or testify, and the evidence and testimony may not be used against the party in any adjudicatory proceeding except a prosecution for aggravated perjury.
(c) For purposes of this section, "adjudicatory proceeding" means a proceeding before a court or any other agency of government in which the legal rights, powers, duties, or privileges of specified parties are determined.
(d) A conviction under this subchapter may be had upon the uncorroborated testimony of a party to the offense.

[whitechocolate]

If you read between the lines, you will see there is an exemption for Eccie related activities so we are home free

[oldbutstillgoing]

Very long very complete sticky threads in the legal forum already and lots of other great info there.

[Sir Lancehernot]

Originally Posted by OldButStillGoing

Very long very complete sticky threads in the legal forum already and lots of other great info there.

Yeah, but dummies like me (I hope I'm not the only one) don't even know that there is a legal forum. I guess you'd stumble across it if you just entered eccie.net every time you wanted to come to the site, but I just go directly to the Dallas forums I'm interested in.

Anyway, I humbly suggest that, redundant or not, it's more relevant than a lot of threads and many comments that get posted here.

[Guest062114-5]

Yes. Familiarize yourself with the legal forum. The main expert there is a Dallas attorney, ShysterJon, so most of the info is very on point for Dallas and Texas as a whole. His advice is nothing short of fabulous.

Several other attorney board members also post there.

I know it seems convenient to you to post here, but it causes duplicate work for the member who help answer legal questions there. Simply posting statutes here opens the board for much misinterpretation when not accompanied by some legal commentary.

Again, if you haven't perused A Question of Legality, you should!

[Sir Lancehernot]

Okay. I've RTMed and asked the thread be deleted. NM.

[Guest062114-5]

It doesn't need to be deleted! It's a good discussion topic but because I've seen the harm that can be done when lay people start giving legal advice, I felt it important to comment.

xoxo

[DallasBenz]

thumbs up on the thread

[oldbutstillgoing]

Oh its good info sir. Just pointing out there is an extensive library of information already available to all board members. A number of attorneys on the board also post there on a regular bases to answer questions and update us all on changes in the laws. This is VERY important to get their input as so many people think they are lawyers and have no idea how very wrong they are about the law. While it would be foolish rely only upon what is posted on ECCIE, at least the lawyers here who have extensive experience in this area of law will give very good general advice. I have learned a lot by reading the many threads in the legal forum.

As an example. The age of consent in Texas is 17. You can have sex with a 17 year old and its legal regardless of the fact you are 60. But, if you have paid for sex with a 17 year old, you just put yourself at huge risk because 17 is considered a minor when it comes to prostitution. My understanding is at one time the age of consent was 18 in Texas but that was changed in 2009??

Originally Posted by Sir Lancehernot

Yeah, but dummies like me (I hope I'm not the only one) don't even know that there is a legal forum. I guess you'd stumble across it if you just entered eccie.net every time you wanted to come to the site, but I just go directly to the Dallas forums I'm interested in.

Anyway, I humbly suggest that, redundant or not, it's more relevant than a lot of threads and many comments that get posted here.

[LazurusLong]

ShysterJon has a stickied thread off the main forums where not only is the law posted but there are numerous pages of discussion about Do's and Don't's/

http://www.eccie.net/showthread.php?t=212302

Spend the time needed to read and understand. There are other actual lawyers in addition to SJ who have posted in that thread.

[Mavs fan]

Don't you guys watch Family Guy? All you have to do is set up a camera. If you get busted, tell the cops you are filming a porno. In which case it is totally legal to pay a woman for any type of nasty, over the top, butt licking, sodomizing sex you want. Prostitution should be legal just because of this fact.

[ShysterJon]

Originally Posted by OldButStillGoing

My understanding is at one time the age of consent was 18 in Texas but that was changed in 2009??

Yes, the age of consent in Texas used to be 18 years of age, but that was changed to 17 many decades ago, not in 2009. (btw, in 1880, the age of consent in Texas was 10.)

You may be thinking of an amendment to section 43.05 of the Texas Penal Code, which regards compelling prostitution. Prior to September 1, 2009, a person would commit the offense of compelling prostitution by causing a person younger than 17 years of age -- that is, a provider 16 years of age or younger -- to commit prostitution. Effective September 1, 2009, a person commits the offense of compelling prostitution by causing a person younger than 18 years of age -- that is, a provider 17 years of age or younger -- to commit prostitution. In other words, engaging in prostitution with a provider 17 years of age or younger is a second-degree felony, punishable by up to 2 to 20 years in prison, a $10,000 fine, and lifetime registration as a sex offender. Committing prostitution with a provider 18 years of age or older is a Class B misdemeanor, punishable by up to six months in county jail and a $2,000 fine.

PLEASE, do not confuse the age of consent for non-prostitution sexual conduct (17 or older) with the definition of 'child' in the compelling prostitution law (17 or younger). To do so is like comparing apples and oranges.

[skirtchaser79411]

Join Date: Sep 2, 2012
Location: Dallas
Posts: 177
Reviews: 18



Don't you guys watch Family Guy? All you have to do is set up a camera. If you get busted, tell the cops you are filming a porno. In which case it is totally legal to pay a woman for any type of nasty, over the top, butt licking, sodomizing sex you want. Prostitution should be legal just because of this fact.

shyster jon maybe be able to shead some light on this but i thought it was not legal to make porn in texas i maybe wrong




[/PRIVATE]

[skirtchaser79411]

i may be wrong but i thought it was not legal to make or shoot porn in texas

[ShysterJon]

I think the young lady was just funnin' when she suggested filming encounters to create a defense to prostitution. I certainly wouldn't suggest a provider or hobbyist create indisputable evidence of sexual conduct for the DA to use at trial, no matter how entertaining it may be for the jury to watch. It seems awhile back I researched whether people can legally shoot porn in Texas and I concluded they could not.