So, you are asking people here to admit they have been arrested on a prostitution charge, and if so, did they have to register as a sex offender?
Actually, and I speak with no real knowledge of the law here, it would have to go to the point of a conviction. I don't think that a mere arrest without a conviction could force you into a registered sex offender status.
I am going to paste a section of Wilkopedia below regarding who is required by Federal Law, but state laws can vary is what I understand.
Based on my reading of this, in general I would guess that consensual sex involving adults but resulting in a prostitution charge would not require sex offender registration.
That said, I would suggest to you that avoiding getting caught be your first priority. If caught, avoiding prosecution, and if prosecuted, avoiding conviction would be the last option.
Also, I guess it would be possible to plead "down" from a prostitution charge to some other charge like Public Indency & while a more minor charge perhaps, falls into a registration category. I have noticed that often the arrests in Texas (Dallas, Fort Worth), especially stings at outdoor locations often do not say prostitution, but rather public indency. It may sound like a lesser offense, but could result in a extra punishment in the form of sex offender registration.
In all cases, I would consult with your attorney in the place where you live or get arrested. And make sure he knows the consequences of taking a plea bargain. I seem to remember an article in the news somewhere about a guy who took a plea bargain as a teenager, never realizing it would force him to be a registered sex offender and not be allowed to see his own children.
Oh, and I think ShysterJon would be the first to tell you if you are getting your legal counsel from Wilkopedia, you are getting exactly what you paid for it.
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Adam Walsh Act (2006)
Legal authority
Title I of the
Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act, the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act, abbreviated as SORNA, and codified under 42 U.S.C.16911
et seq., is a federal mandate which requires U.S. jurisdictions to update their
sex offender registration laws to conform with federal guidelines. States that do not substantially implement SORNA face a mandatory 10% penalty in their
Bureau of Justice Assistance grant under 42 U.S.C. 3750
et seq.
[24]
Tiers of offenses
Crimes that are deemed sex offenses for registration purposes have been expanded under SORNA. Each state must decide which tier violations of state law belong to, depending on the following guidelines, and then enact
statutes that tier each criminal offense. This is in contrast to the current method in some states, where prosecutors or the courts tier individual offenders.
Thus, an offender's tier under this scheme is based on the particular statute to which an offender plead guilty, or was convicted of. So an offender's tier is not necessarily based on the seriousness of the crime, nor does it reflect the danger or re-offense risk of the offender. However, offenses must be punishable by imprisonment for more than 1 year (i.e. a
felony) to be classified higher than Tier I.
Violations of state law are tiered according to the federal offenses to which they are comparable, or more serious than. Note that for federal purposes, sexual act typically refers to
sexual penetration, while sexual contact refers to a touching offense, though sexual act can include sexual contact depending on the reading of the statute.
[25]
Tier III Offenses require lifetime registration and quarterly verification, involve:
[26]- sexual acts involving force or carried out under threat, 18 U.S.C. 2241(a)[27]
- sexual acts with one whom the actor causes unconscious, or impairs by drugging or intoxication, 18 U.S.C. 2241(b)[27]
- sexual acts with a child under the age of 12, 18 U.S.C. 2241(c)[27]
- sexual acts with one whom is mentally incapable of appraising, or physically incapable of declining, or communicates unwillingness of, the sex act, 18 U.S.C. 2242[28]
- sexual contact with a child under the age of 12, 18 U.S.C. 2244(c)[29]
- non-parental kidnapping or false imprisonment of minors,
- any attempt or conspiracy to commit of any of the above, and
- any new offense committed by a Tier II offender.
Tier II Offenses require registration for 25 years and semiannual verification. It generally consists of
nonviolent sex offenses, involving minors:
[26]- sex trafficking of minors, 18 U.S.C. 1591[30]
- transportation of minors with intent to engage in criminal sexual activity, 18 U.S.C. 2423[31]
- coercion and enticement (Mann Act), 18 U.S.C. 2422(b)[32]
- sexual acts with minors age 12-15, 18 U.S.C. 2243(a)[33]
- sexual contact with minors age 12-15, 18 U.S.C. 2244[29]
- sexual offenses involving those in custody, and the actor has custodial, supervisory, or disciplinary authority, 18 U.S.C. 2243(b)[34]
- offenses where minors are used in prostitution,
- offenses where minors are used in sexual performance,
- offenses involving the production or distribution of child pornography,
- any attempt or conspiracy to commit of any of the above, and
- any new offense committed by a Tier I offender.
Tier I Offenses require registration for 15 years and annual verification. This tier is for sex offenses that do not fall into the higher tiers, and includes both felonies and misdemeanors. States can include any conduct that by its nature is a sex offense, although Tier I is generally reserved for
nonviolent offenses where the victim has reached the
age of consent:
- sexual contact without permission, 18 U.S.C. 2244(b)[29]
- offenses involving simple possession of child pornography,
- offenses involving public indecency (some states limit this to where the victim is a minor),
- offenses involving voyeurism, 18 U.S.C. 1801[35]
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Does prosecution require sex offender registration ?
