Florida Criminal Lawyer Blog

ABC News reports that a woman who identifies herself as a prostitute was arrested after allegedly carjacking a man and leading police on a chase in West Palm Beach.

Prostitution in West Palm Beach is the oldest profession known to man and while law enforcement tries to get a handle on it, it will continue in one form or another. And that goes for the people who attempt to purchase the services of a prostitute as well.

Police officers are constantly putting together sting operations where female officers dress as prostitutes to try to arrest people who may be seeking. But there are situations during these sting operations where officers can entrap a suspect, leading to an unlawful arrest.

Fort Lauderdale criminal defense lawyers should be called in to defend a person who was enticed by police into asking for prostitute services. Entrapment is rare, but it does happen. It means luring someone into committing a crime they normally wouldn't commit. Regardless, a charge of prostitution or solicitation should be properly defended.

In these sting operations, an example would be if a person pulled up to an undercover officer in a car and began talking with them about how much it would cost, but they don't ask the "prostitute" to get into their vehicle, but the officer persists and convinces them to pick them up.

In a situation like this, the person may be having second thoughts, but the officer convinces the "John" to go through with the deal, leading to an arrest. While officers should be trained to avoid such behavior, there have been instances where this happens.

According to the news story, the woman, who claims she is a prostitute, said she was picked up by a man near 10th Avenue North and Dixie Highway one weekday night. As they were sitting in the vehicle, she allegedly decided she didn't want to have sex with the man and when he got out of his vehicle, she jumped into the driver's seat and drove off.

As police pursued her, she allegedly hit several vehicles en route to Interstate 95. She eventually ditched the car and ran away before she was chased down by police and arrested. She now faces charges of carjacking and fleeing from police and was being held on $50,000 bond.

The man says that he borrowed his friend's car and was sending a money order when a woman and a man pulled him out of his car, hit him and took the car, driving over his foot. There's no word on the other mystery man.

This is an interesting case because there are two completely different stories of how this came to be. In the one situation, the woman allegedly admits to taking the vehicle, but the man, likely fearing people would judge him for picking up a prostitute, says he was pulled from the vehicle by two people.

Continue reading "Prostitute Allegedly Carjacks John in West Palm Beach Case" »

Police recently conducted a sting to make arrests for prostitution in Fort Lauderdale on Federal Highway just south of downtown, the Sun Sentinel reports.

Prostitution is said to be the world's oldest profession-- accepting money for sex -- but in Florida it is still a crime. Police are consistently holding raids to try to arrest people for soliciting prostitution as well as arresting the prostitutes. Crackdowns on online massage therapists or those advertising through classifieds is an even grayer area of enforcement. While it is a misdemeanor to seek a prostitute, it can be one of the more embarrassing crimes to be charged with and therefore should be defended by an experienced Fort Lauderdale Criminal Defense Attorney. Too often, an embarassed defendent will quickly plead guilty in an effort to put the incident in the rearview mirror. We think that's a mistake. Having a prostitution or solicitation conviction on your record can impact your life for years to come.

According to the Sun Sentinel, police have averaged between 171 and 334 prostitution-related arrests each year over the past five years. So far this year, however, the department has only made 66 arrests. Businesses and residents complained that the highway has been the scene of prostitution, which they say is scaring away customers and bringing in other types of crime to their neighborhood.

So, the department set up a sting where an undercover officer with scantily clad clothes walked the streets. Eight men -- ages 26 to 54 -- were arrested and charged with soliciting a prostitute, a second-degree misdemeanor punishable by up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine. Police videotaped the transactions.

In these types of cases, entrapment is definitely an area an experienced criminal defense attorney will pursue in defense of the suspect. Entrapment means when police coerce a person into committing a crime they wouldn't normally commit. For instance, if a person pulls over to talk to an undercover officer posing as a prostitute and decides to leave, but the officer urges them to stay, that could be considered entrapment because it was the officer's words or actions that caused them to commit the crime.

Stings of any kind that police put together must be carefully conducted within the bounds of the law in order for the evidence they collect to stand at trial. And challenging the evidence is key to a successful defense.

But police sometimes conduct these raids in order to look for more serious crimes, such as human trafficking, sex slavery and underage prostitution. That's when a seemingly less-than-serious misdemeanor offense can begin to turn into the more serious felony offenses that lead to serious prison time.

According to Florida Statutes 796, prostitution is defined as "giving or receiving of the body for sexual activity for hire but excludes sexual activity between spouses."

The chapter goes on to define how it is illegal to pimp a prostitute, seek out someone who is under 18 for purposes of prostitution, sell or buy minors into sex trafficking or prostitution and other prostitution-related crimes. The penalties range from months in jail to decades in prison, as the trafficking charges can be charged as first-degree felonies punishable by 30 years in prison.

Continue reading "Police Crack Down on Fort Lauderdale Prostitution" »

Our Broward prostitution defense attorneys have learned that authorities in South Florida arrested 84 people last week in a three-day sweep that was aimed at finding underage girls who were forced into prostitution. Operation Cross Country IV was a joint task force with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Broward Sheriff's Office, and Miami-Dade, Miami Beach, and Miami police.

In Broward County, the task force arrested nine people. Seventy-five people were arrested in Miami-Dade County, and twenty-four of those were arrested on Miami Beach. Authorities also say a 14-year-old girl was rescued in the Miami Beach prostitution sweep.

The arrests were made on a variety of charges such as deriving support from the proceeds of prostitution, transportation for prostitution, possession of cocaine, and offering to engage in prostitution.

84 arrested in Miami-Dade, Broward counties as part of anti-prostitution operation, South Florida Sun Sentinel, October 26, 2009

Continue reading "Broward Solicitation for Prostitution Lawyer - Police Arrest 84 in Anti-Prostitution Operation" »

A few weeks ago, following the murder of a prostitute who had reportedly posted on Craigslist, the online classified site voluntarily removed its "Erotic Services" ads. Prior to that incident, Florida Rep. Rachel Burgin had proposed a bill to ban such ads from Craigslist and other newspapers and websites. The bill never made it to a vote, but the Hillsborough County Republican says she may introduce similar legislation next session. She sees the changes at Craigslist as a positive step.

However, the sudden change has caused concern among many of Broward County's prostitutes. One prostitute, who spoke anonymously to a reporter from the New Times of Broward-Palm Beach, said she was able to make over $1,000 per day before Craigslist removed its "Erotic Service" section, and now barely earns $600 per week. Instead of advertising in the "Erotic Service" section, the Florida woman said she now uses the new "Adult Service" section to post a short ad with her face and phone number.

According to the woman, "Nobody at Craigslist is trying to protect the girls doing this. They're just protecting themselves."

Local Prostitute Talks About Craigslist Woes, BrowardPalmBeach.com, May 22, 2009

Continue reading "Palm Beach and Broward Prostitution Lawyer Discusses Impact of New Craigslist Policy" »