An accusation does not have to lead to conviction, and you have the right to defend yourself and try to protect your good name. A lawyer in Maryland with experience in prostitution cases can represent you. In Maryland, laws prohibiting prostitution are found in Title 11 of the Criminal Code, which criminalizes behaviors related to obscenity and indecency. Subtitle 3 of Title 11 defines the offense of prostitution, as well as related offenses including receiving the earnings of a prostitute; occupying a building or other structure for prostitution; and procuring or soliciting a prostitute.
The definition of prostitution is found in Maryland Code Section Under this Code section, prostitution refers to offering sex acts, sexual contact, or vaginal sex for hire. A sexual act can include a wide variety of different behaviors, including oral and anal sex acts as well as any acts that could reasonably be construed as being performed for sexual gratification or arousal of either person.
This definition is broad enough to include behaviors that occur without either party ever taking their clothing off, as long as those behaviors are considered sexual in nature.
The question of whether something is a sexual act or sexual conduct can be subjective. A prostitution lawyer in Maryland can help you to argue that the behaviors you are being accused of do not fall within the definition of prostitution. Code Section lists specific behaviors related to prostitution that are illegal, including:. These laws impose very broad prohibitions on any behaviors relaxed to sex for hire.
Not only could someone who offers sex for money be charged, but a hotel owner who rents a room to a prostitute could face charges, and a person who offers to get a prostitute for his friend could be charged. In many cases, it is questionable whether your actions were considered sex for hire or whether your behaviors were otherwise illegal under anti-prostitution laws.
