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Prostitution & Solicitation Defense
Prostitution cases in Central Florida are overwhelmingly sting cases: undercover operations in massage establishments, decoy ads on escort sites, and street-level details along the US-192 corridor. The charges range from a second-degree misdemeanor to a second-degree felony, and a 2010s-era rewrite of the statute means buyers now face harsher penalties than sellers — including a mandatory jail term for repeat solicitation.
A prostitution arrest also carries a consequence the statute never mentions: exposure. Names appear in sheriff's office press releases, and the damage at work and at home often outruns the court case. Moving quickly — toward diversion, dismissal, or a non-public resolution — matters. Call or text 407-846-8008.
What § 796.07 Prohibits
Florida Statute § 796.07 criminalizes prostitution (sexual activity for hire), lewdness, and assignation, and reaches everyone around the transaction: offering or agreeing to commit prostitution; soliciting or procuring another to commit it; keeping or operating a place (or vehicle) for it; transporting or directing someone to such a place; receiving money from it; and aiding or abetting any of it.
Penalties: Sellers vs. Buyers
Offering or committing prostitution (and most other violations):
• First offense: second-degree misdemeanor (up to 60 days).
• Second offense: first-degree misdemeanor (up to 1 year).
• Third or subsequent: third-degree felony (up to 5 years) — with a statutory right to be offered pretrial intervention or treatment in qualifying cases.
Soliciting, inducing, or procuring another to commit prostitution — the “john” charge, § 796.07(2)(f):
• First offense: first-degree misdemeanor.
• Second offense: third-degree felony, with a mandatory minimum of 10 days in jail.
• Third or subsequent: second-degree felony (up to 15 years), with the same 10-day mandatory minimum.
• Every solicitation conviction also brings 100 hours of community service, a required educational program on the harms of commercial sexual exploitation where available, a $5,000 civil penalty on any disposition other than acquittal or dismissal, and possible vehicle impoundment for up to 60 days.
Two more wrinkles: offenses connected to a massage establishment are reclassified one degree higher, and anyone charged should know that § 796.07 convictions do not require sex offender registration — but solicitation involving a minor, or anything crossing into § 847.0135 territory, is a different and far more serious case (see Online Solicitation).
Defenses and Exits
• Entrapment. The same doctrine that applies in minor-sting cases applies here. Who proposed sex for money — and how hard the undercover pushed when the defendant hesitated — is often the case.
• No agreement. Vague conversation about money and company is not a completed solicitation; the State must prove a knowing offer or agreement for sexual activity for hire. Ambiguity is reasonable doubt.
• Lack of knowledge in keeping/renting/transporting cases: landlords, drivers, and front-desk staff are charged on assumptions the evidence often cannot support.
• Suppression. Recording gaps, translation problems (common in massage cases), and unlawful detentions all surface here.
• Diversion and sealing. First-time defendants often may qualify for diversion programs resulting in dismissal — and a dismissed or diverted case may be sealed or expunged, removing the arrest from public view. Protecting the record is usually the client's real goal, and it drives our strategy.
Frequently Asked Questions
Will this put me on the sex offender registry?
No — § 796.07 is not a registrable offense. Charges involving minors are, and are charged under different statutes.
It was just a conversation — no money changed hands and nothing happened.
The offense is complete at the offer or agreement; neither payment nor sex is required. But proving a knowing, specific agreement beyond a reasonable doubt is the State's burden, and conversations are rarely as clean as affidavits claim.
Can my spouse find out? Is this public?
Court records are public, and some agencies publicize sting arrests. Acting quickly on diversion, dismissal, and later sealing or expungement is the realistic way to limit the footprint.
I was arrested at a massage business where I just work the desk.
Employees get swept into these operations regularly. Knowledge is an element — and it can be the State's weakest proof.
Protect Your Record and Your Name
Many first-offense cases can be resolved without a conviction when they're handled correctly from the start — no outcome is guaranteed, but the path exists and we know it well. Call or text 407-846-8008 for a free, confidential consultation with former prosecutor Chad Seibel. Office visits are by appointment only.