Chapter 185
2009 -- H 5044 SUBSTITUTE B
Enacted 11/03/09
A N A C T
RELATING TO CRIMINAL OFFENSES - PROSTITUTION AND LEWDNESS
Introduced
By: Representatives Giannini,
Date Introduced: January 08, 2009
It is enacted by the
General Assembly as follows:
SECTION 1. Title 11 of the General Laws entitled
"CRIMINAL OFFENSES" is hereby
amended by adding thereto the following chapter:
CHAPTER
34.1
COMMERCIAL
SEXUAL ACTIVITY
11-34.1-1.
Definitions. -- The following words and
phrases, when used in this chapter,
have the following meanings:
(1) "Sexual
conduct" means sexual intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, anal
intercourse, and
digital intrusion or intrusion by any object into the genital
opening or anal opening of another
person's body, or the stimulation by hand of another's
genitals for the purposes of arousing or
gratifying the sexual desire of either person.
(2) “Commercial
sexual activity” means any sexual conduct which is performed or
promised in return for a fee.
(3) “Fee” means any
thing of monetary value, including but not limited to money, given
as consideration for sexual conduct.
11-34.1-2.
Prostitution. -- (a) A person is guilty of
prostitution when such person
engages or agrees or offers to engage in sexual conduct with
another person in return for a fee.
Any person found guilty under this section shall be
deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
subject to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six (6)
months, or to a fine of not less than two
hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or both.
(b) Any person found
guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to
imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or a fine of
not less than five hundred dollars
($500) nor more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or both.
(c) Any proceeds
derived directly from a violation of this section are subject to seizure
and forfeiture and further proceedings shall be had for
their forfeiture as is prescribed by law in
chapter 21 of title 12.
(d) In any
prosecution for a violation under this section it shall be an affirmative
defense
if the accused was forced to commit a commercial sexual
activity by:
(1) Being threatened
or, subjected to physical harm;
(2) Being physically
restrained or threatened to be physically restrained;
(3) Being subject to
threats of abuse of law or legal process;
(4) Being subject to
destruction, concealment, removal or confiscation, of any passport or
other immigration document, or any other actual or
purported governmental identification
document; or
(5) Being subject to
intimidation in which the accused’s physical well
being was
perceived as threatened.
11-34.1-3.
Procurement of sexual conduct for a fee. -- (a)
A person is guilty of
procuring or attempting to procure sexual conduct for the
payment of a fee if they engage or seek
to engage in sexual conduct for any type of fee and/or
pay or agree to pay any type of fee for
sexual conduct, regardless of the time, place or location of
the procurement, attempted
procurement, payment, attempted payment or conduct. Any person
found guilty under this section
shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be
subject to imprisonment for a term not
exceeding one year, or to a fine of not less than two hundred
fifty dollars ($250) nor more than
one thousand dollars ($1,000), or both.
(b) Any person found
guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or a fine of not
less than five hundred dollars
($500) nor more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or both.
11-34.1-4. Loitering for prostitution. -- (a) It shall be unlawful for any person to stand
or wander in or near any public highway or street, or
any public or private place, and attempt to
engage passersby in conversation, or stop or attempt to stop
motor vehicles, for the purpose of
prostitution or other commercial sexual activity. Any person found
guilty of the crime of loitering
for prostitution shall be subject to a sentence of up to
six (6) months incarceration or by a fine of
not less than two hundred fifty dollars ($250) nor more
than one thousand dollars ($1,000), or
both.
(b) Any person found
guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to
imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or a fine of not
less than five hundred dollars
($500) nor more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or both.
SECTION 2. Sections 11-34-1, 11-34-2, 11-34-3, 11-34-4,
11-34-5, 11-34-5.1, 11-34-6,
11-34-7, 11-34-8,
11-34-8.1, 11-34-8.2, 11-34-9 and 11-34-10 of the General Laws in Chapter
11-34 entitled
"Prostitution and Lewdness" are hereby repealed.
11-34-1.
Pandering. -- (a) It shall be
unlawful for any person to secure a person for a
house of ill fame, or to procure for a person a place as
inmate of a house of ill fame; or by any
promise, threat, by abuse of person, or by any other device
or scheme, to cause, induce, persuade,
or encourage a person to become a prostitute, to enter
upon or lead a wanton or dissolute life, to
become an inmate of a house of ill fame, to enter a place in
which prostitution is encouraged or
allowed, or remain in it as an inmate, or to come into this
state or leave this state for the purpose
of prostitution. It shall be unlawful for any person to
receive or give, or agree to receive or give,
any money or thing of value for procuring or attempting
to procure any person to become a
prostitute, to enter upon or lead a wanton or dissolute life, or
to become an inmate of a house of
ill fame, either within or without this state, or come
into this state or leave this state for the
purpose of prostitution. It shall be unlawful for any person
by any means to keep, hold, or detain
against his or her will or restrain any person in any place
for the purpose of prostitution, or in a
house of ill fame or other place where prostitution is
practiced or allowed for any purpose; or to
directly or indirectly keep, hold, detain, or restrain, or attempt
to keep, hold, detain, or restrain in
any house of ill fame or other place where prostitution
is allowed or practiced, any person by any
means for the purpose of compelling that person, directly
or indirectly, to pay, liquidate, or cancel
any debt, dues, or obligations incurred or said to have
been incurred by that person.
(b) Every person who
commits any of the offenses described in subsection (a) of this
section, or who assists, abets, or aids another to commit any
of those offenses, shall be guilty of
pandering. For the first offense that person shall be punished
by imprisonment for not less than
one year and not more than five (5) years and a fine of
not less than two thousand dollars
($2,000), nor more than five
thousand dollars ($5,000).
For every subsequent offense that person
shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three
(3) years and not more than ten (10)
years and a fine of not less than five thousand dollars
($5,000), nor more than ten thousand dollars
($10,000).
11-34-2.
Venue of pandering prosecutions. --
It shall not be a defense to any
prosecution for any of the offenses described in section 11-34-1
that the offense or any part of the
offense shall have been committed outside the state, and any
offense described in section 11-34-1
may be alleged to have been committed. The offender may
be prosecuted and punished in any
county in which the offender or the person upon or against
whom the offense was committed may
be found, or in which the offense was consummated, or in
which any overt acts in furtherance of
the offenses shall have been committed.
11-34-3.
Spouse as witness in pandering prosecution. --
In any prosecution for any
offense under section 11-34-1, any person shall be a
competent witness against the offender in
relation to any pandering offense committed by the offender
upon or against him or her, or by the
offender against or upon another person or persons in his or
her presence, notwithstanding that
person may have been married to the offender before or after
the commission of the offense, and
notwithstanding that person may be called as a witness during the
existence of the marriage or
after its dissolution.
11-34-4.
Search for and delivery of inmate of house of ill fame.
-- Whenever there is
reason to believe that any person has been inveigled,
enticed, induced, persuaded, or encouraged
to enter a house of ill fame or other place where
prostitution is allowed or practiced, or is being
kept, held, detained, or restrained in any house of ill
fame or other place where prostitution is
allowed or practiced, upon complaint being made under oath by
any director of human services,
member of the division of state police, sheriff, deputy
sheriff, chief of police, town sergeant, or
constable, or by the parent, master, or guardian of the person,
to any justice or clerk of a district
court authorized to issue warrants, the justice or clerk
may issue a warrant to enter by day or night
the house of ill fame or other place, to search for the
person, and to bring that person and the
person in whose possession or keeping he or she may be found
before the district court. The court
may, on examination, order that person to be delivered to
the director of human services, parent,
master, or guardian, or to be placed in the charge of a
probation officer, or to be discharged in
accordance with law.
11-34-5.
Transportation for indecent purposes -- Harboring prostitution.
-- (a) It
shall be unlawful for any person, for pecuniary gain, to
secure, direct, or transport, or offer to
secure, direct, or transport another for the purpose of
prostitution, or for any other lewd or
indecent act; or to receive or offer or agree to receive any person
into any place, structure, house,
building, room, or conveyance for the purpose of committing
any such acts, or knowingly permit
any person to remain in the premises for those purposes,
or to, in any way, aid or abet or
participate in any of the acts or things enumerated in this
chapter.
(b) Any person found
guilty under this section shall be subject to imprisonment in the
adult correctional institutions for not less than one year
and not more than five (5) years, and a
fine of not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000) nor
more than five thousand dollars ($5,000).
For every subsequent offense that person shall be
punished by imprisonment for not less than
three (3) years and for not more than ten (10) years and a
fine of not less than five thousand
dollars ($5,000) nor more than ten thousand dollars
($10,000).
11-34-5.1.
Deriving support or maintenance from prostitution.
-- Any person,
knowing a person to be a prostitute, who shall live or derive
support or maintenance, in whole or
in part, from the earnings or proceeds of prostitution,
from moneys loaned, advanced to, or
charged against the prostitute by any keeper, manager, or
inmate of a house of ill fame or other
place where prostitution is practiced or allowed, or who
shall share in the earnings, proceeds or
moneys, shall be punished by imprisonment in the adult
correctional institutions for not less than
one year nor more than five (5) years, or by a fine of
not less than two thousand dollars ($2,000)
and not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000), or
both, and for every subsequent offense shall
be punished by imprisonment for not less three (3) years
and not more than ten (10) years, and by
a fine of not less than five thousand dollars ($5,000)
and not more than ten thousand dollars
($10,000), or both. However, nothing in this section shall apply to a
minor dependent of the
prostitute.
11-34-6.
Reputation testimony as evidence. --
In the trial of any person charged with a
violation of section 11-34-5, testimony concerning the
reputation of the place where the violation
occurred or of persons who frequent or reside in it shall be
admissible in evidence in support of
the charge.
11-34-7.
Examination and treatment for venereal disease. --
Any person convicted for
any violation of section 11-34-5 or of any other statute
relating to lewd or lascivious behavior or
unlawful sexual intercourse, and who shall be confined or
imprisoned in any correctional
institution for more than ten (10) days, may be examined by the
department of health for venereal
disease, through duly appointed, licensed physicians as
agents. Any person that is examined may
be detained until the result of the examination is duly
reported. If found with venereal disease in
an infectious stage, the person shall be treated, and if
a menace to the public, quarantined, in
accordance with rules and regulations, not inconsistent with
law, of the director of health, who is
authorized to formulate and issue them. Refusal to comply with
or obey the rules or regulations
shall constitute a misdemeanor and be punishable by fine
not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars
($250), or by imprisonment not to
exceed three (3) months, or both.
11-34-8. Loitering for indecent purposes. -- (a) It
shall be unlawful for any person to
stand or wander in or near any public highway or street, or
any public or private place, and
attempt to engage passersby in conversation, or stop or
attempt to stop motor vehicles, for the
purpose of prostitution or other indecent act, or to
patronize, induce, or otherwise secure a person
to commit any indecent act. Any person found guilty
under this section shall be deemed guilty of
a misdemeanor and shall be subject to imprisonment for
a term not exceeding six (6) months, or
by a fine of not less than two hundred fifty dollars
($250) nor more than one thousand dollars
($1,000), or both.
(b) Any person found
guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to
imprisonment for a term of not more than one year, or a fine of
not less than five hundred dollars
($500) nor more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or both.
11-34-8.1. Soliciting from motor vehicles for indecent purposes. --
(a) It shall be
unlawful for any person, while an operator or passenger in a
motor vehicle to stop, or attempt to
stop another vehicle or pedestrian, or to engage or
attempt to engage persons in another vehicle or
pedestrians in conversation, for the purposes of prostitution or
other indecent act, or to patronize,
induce, or otherwise secure another person to commit any
indecent act. Any person found guilty
under this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor
and shall be subject to imprisonment
for a term not exceeding six (6) months and by a fine of
not less than five hundred dollars ($500)
nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
(b) Any person found
guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to
imprisonment for a term of not more than one year and a fine of
not less than seven hundred fifty
dollars ($750) nor more than one thousand five hundred
dollars ($1,500). No fine imposed under
this section may be suspended.
11-34-8.2.
Forfeiture of motor vehicles. -- (a)
The motor vehicle being unlawfully
operated as defined in section 11-34-8.1 by a person convicted
of a second or subsequent offense
of soliciting from a motor vehicle for indecent purposes
pursuant to section 11-34-8.1, which
vehicle is owned by the operator, may be seized by the law
enforcement agency and forfeited at
the discretion of the court.
(b) Property taken
or detained under this section shall not be repleviable,
but shall be
deemed to be in the custody of the law enforcement agency
making the seizure. The seizing
agency shall sell the vehicle and grant the proceeds to the
governor's justice commission for the
purposes of rehabilitation and job training of those found
guilty of prostitution and who are
imprisoned. The seizing agency may retain ten percent (10%) of
the proceeds of the sale up to a
maximum of one hundred dollars ($100), for the purposes of
the administration of the sale.
11-34-9.
Severability. --
If any provision of this chapter or its application to any person
or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity does
not affect other provisions or applications of
the chapter which can be given effect without the invalid
provision or application, and to this end
the provisions of this chapter are declared to be severable.
11-34-10.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). -- (a)
Any person convicted of a
violation of any provisions of this chapter shall be required
to be tested for Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). No consent for the testing shall be required.
(b) The department
of health shall maintain sites for providing both anonymous and
confidential HIV testing, and HIV counseling and referral. Each
site, funded by the department of
health, shall offer free testing, counseling and referral
for indigent parties and other individuals
without health insurance, offer a sliding scale for payment
for all other individuals and, in the
case of confidential testing, screen for ability to pay
through a third-party insurer. In the case of
nonfunded sites for HIV testing, organizations and/or
institutions performing the test shall offer
free testing, counseling and referral for indigent parties
and other individuals without health
insurance.
(c) All persons
tested under this section shall be provided pre-test and post-test
counseling by individuals trained by the department of health,
as an HIV testing counselor, in
accordance with regulations promulgated by the department of
health; provided, that the
counseling shall be in accordance with acceptable medical
standards.
(d) All persons who
are tested under this section, who are determined to be injecting
drug users, shall be referred to appropriate sources of
substance abuse treatment by the HIV
testing counselor and/or the attending practitioner as
follows:
(1) Those persons
who test positive for HIV infection shall be given priority for those
outpatient substance abuse treatment programs that are sponsored
or supported by the appropriate
state agency responsible for these services.
(2) Those persons
who are injecting drug users and test negative for HIV infection shall
be referred, by the HIV testing counselor and/or
attending practitioner, to the appropriate state
agency responsible for these services for earliest possible
evaluation and treatment.
SECTION 3. Chapter 34.1 of the General Laws entitled
"Commercial Sexual Activity" as
established in Section 1 of this act, is hereby further amended
by adding thereto the following
sections:
11-34.1-5.
Expungement of certain criminal records.
-- (a) Records defined in section
12-1.3-1 of any person convicted, placed on probation,
or whose case was filed pursuant to
section 12-10-12, for a violation of section 11-34.1-2 or
section 11-34.1-4 may be expunged one
year after completion of that person’s sentence.
(b) The motion shall
be filed in accordance with a chapter 12-1.3 and may be granted in
the court’s discretion regardless of the person’s first
offender status.
11-34.1-6. Soliciting from motor vehicles for indecent purposes –
Forfeiture of
motor vehicle. -- (a) It shall be unlawful for any person, while an operator or
passenger in a
motor vehicle to stop, or attempt to stop another vehicle
or pedestrian, or to engage or attempt to
engage persons in another vehicle or pedestrians in
conversation, for the purposes of prostitution
or other indecent act, or to patronize, induce, or
otherwise secure another person to commit any
commercial sexual activity. Any person found guilty under this
section shall be subject to a
sentence of up to six (6) months incarceration or a fine of
not less than five hundred dollars
($500) nor more than one thousand
dollars ($1,000), or both.
(b) Any person found
guilty of a subsequent offense under this section shall be subject to
imprisonment for a term of not more than one year and a fine of
not less than seven hundred fifty
dollars ($750) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000).
No fine imposed under this section
may be suspended.
(c) The motor vehicle
being unlawfully operated as defined in this chapter by a person
convicted of a second or subsequent offense of soliciting from
a motor vehicle for indecent
purposes pursuant to this chapter which vehicle is owned by
the operator, may be seized by the
law enforcement agency and forfeited at the discretion of
the court. Any funds received from the
forfeiture shall be deposited in the victim's of crimes
indemnity fund (VCIF).
11-34.1-7.
Pandering or permitting prostitution – Not allowed. -- (a) It shall be
unlawful for any person, by any promise or threat, by abuse of
person, or by any other device or
scheme, to cause, induce, persuade, or encourage a person to
become a prostitute or to come into
this state or leave this state for the purpose of
prostitution. It shall be unlawful for any person to
receive or give, or agree to receive or give, any money or
thing of value for procuring or
attempting to procure any person to become a prostitute or to
come into this state or leave this
state for the purpose of prostitution.
(b) It shall be
unlawful for any person to knowingly permit, allow, transport or offer or
agree to receive any person into any place, structure,
house, building, room, or business for the
purpose of committing any commercial sexual activity, or
knowingly permit any person to remain
in the premises for those purposes, or to, in any way,
aid or abet or participate in any of the acts
or things enumerated in this chapter. It shall also be
unlawful for any person, knowing a person to
be a prostitute, who shall live or derive support or
maintenance, in whole or in part, from the
earnings or proceeds of commercial sexual activity, from
moneys loaned, advanced to, or charged
against the prostitute by a landlord, manager, owner of a spa
or business or any other place where
commercial sexual activity is practiced or allowed, or who shall
share in the earnings, proceeds or
moneys shall be guilty of the crime of permitting
prostitution.
(c) Every person who
commits any of the offenses described in subsection (a) of this
section, or who assists, abets, or aids another to commit any
of those offenses, shall be guilty of
pandering. For the first offense that person shall be punished
by imprisonment for not less than
one year and not more than five (5) years and a fine of
not less than two thousand dollars
($2,000), nor more than five thousand
dollars ($5,000). For every
subsequent offense that person
shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than three
(3) years and not more than ten (10)
years and a fine of not less than five thousand dollars
($5,000), nor more than ten thousand
dollars ($10,000).
11-34.1-8.
Venue of pandering or permitting prostitution prosecutions.
-- It shall not
be a defense to any prosecution of any of the offenses
described in this chapter that the offense or
any part of the offense shall have been committed outside
the state, and any offense described in
this chapter may be alleged to have been committed. The
offender may be prosecuted and
punished in any county in which the offender or the person
upon or against whom the offense was
committed may be found, or in which the offense was
consummated, or in which any overt acts in
furtherance of the offenses shall have been committed.
11-34.1-9.
Spouse as witness in pandering or permitting prostitution.
-- In any
prosecution for any offense under this chapter, any person shall
be a competent witness against
the offender in relation to any offense committed by the
offender upon or against him or her, or
by the offender against or upon another person or
persons in his or her presence, notwithstanding
that person may have been married to the offender before
or after the commission of the offense,
and notwithstanding that person may be called as witness
during the existence of the marriage or
after its dissolution.
11-34.1-10.
Reputation testimony as evidence. -- In the
trial of any person charged with
a violation of this chapter, testimony concerning the
reputation of the place where the violation
occurred or of persons who frequent or reside in it shall be
admissible in evidence in support of
the charge.
11-34.1-11.
Examination and treatment for venereal disease. --
Any person convicted
for any violation of this chapter or of any other statute
relating to lewd or lascivious behavior or
unlawful sexual intercourse, and who shall be confined or
imprisoned in any correctional
institution for more than ten (10) days, may be examined by the
department of health for venereal
disease, through duly appointed, licensed physicians as
agents. Any person that is examined may
be detained until the result of the examination is duly
reported. If found with venereal disease in
an infectious stage, the person shall be treated, and if
a menace to the public, quarantined, in
accordance with rules and regulations, not inconsistent with
law, of the director of health, who is
authorized to formulate and issue them. Refusal to comply with
or obey the rules or regulations
shall constitute a misdemeanor and be punishable by fine
not to exceed two hundred fifty dollars
($250), or a sentence of
incarceration of up to three (3) months, or both.
11-34.1-12.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). -- (a) Any person convicted of a
violation of any provisions of this chapter shall be required to
be tested for Human
Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). No consent for the testing shall be required.
(b) The department of
health shall maintain sites for providing both anonymous and
confidential HIV testing, and HIV counseling and referral. Each
site, funded by the department of
health, shall offer free testing, counseling and referral
for indigent parties and other individuals
without health insurance, offer a sliding scale for payment
for all other individuals and, in the
case of confidential testing, screen for ability to pay
through a third-party insurer. In the case of
nonfunded sites for HIV testing, organizations and/or
institutions performing the test shall offer
free testing, counseling and referral for indigent parties
and other individuals without health
insurance.
(c) All persons
tested under this section shall be provided pre-test and post-test
counseling by individuals trained by the department of health,
as an HIV testing counselor, in
accordance with regulations promulgated by the department of
health; provided, that the
counseling shall be in accordance with acceptable medical
standards.
(d) All persons who
are tested under this section, who are determined to be injecting drug
users, shall be referred to appropriate sources of
substance abuse treatment by the HIV testing
counselor and/or the attending practitioner as follows:
(1) Those persons who
test positive for HIV infection shall be given priority for those
outpatient substance abuse treatment programs that are sponsored
or supported by the appropriate
state agency responsible for these services.
(2) Those persons who
are injecting drug users and test negative for HIV infection shall
be referred, by the HIV testing counselor and/or
attending practitioner, to the appropriate state
agency responsible for these services for earliest possible
evaluation and treatment.
11-34.1-13.
Reporting. -- On or before January 15, 2010,
and semi-annually thereafter,
each law enforcement agency in this state shall file with
the Governor, the Attorney General, the
Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President of the Senate a report concerning the
agency's enforcement of this chapter during the preceding six
(6) month period. Each semi-annual
report shall contain, but need not be limited to, the
following information:
(1) The number of
persons arrested pursuant to subsection 11-34.1-2(a), subsection 11-
34.1-2(b), section 11-34.1-3, section 11-34.1-4,
subsection 11-34.1-6(a), subsection 11-34.1-6(b),
and subsection 11-34.1-7 of this chapter;
(2) Of those
arrested, the number of persons convicted, placed on probation, whose case
is filed pursuant to section 12-10-12, whether those
persons pled guilty or nolo contendere
or
were found guilty after trial by judge or jury;
(3) The fines and/or
sentences of those persons identified pursuant to subdivision (2) of
this section; and
(4) A summary of the
amounts of fines levied and the lengths of sentences identified
pursuant to subdivision (3) of this section.
11-34.1-14.
Severability. -- If
any provision of this chapter or its application to any
person or circumstances is held invalid, the invalidity
shall not affect other provisions or
applications of the chapter which can be given effect without the
invalid provision or application,
and to this end the provisions of this chapter are
declared to be severable.
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect upon passage.
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LC00032/SUB B/2
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