Bill Sponsors: Jim Waring and Linda Gray

SUBJECT:      Strike everything amendment to 1423; relating to child prostitution

Purpose

Removes the ability of a person who is charged with engaging in prostitution with a minor to base the person’s defense on a claim that the defendant could not reasonably have known the age of the minor and prescribes penalties for the offense.

Background

Currently, Arizona Revised Statutes define prostitution as engaging in or agreeing or offering  to engage in sexual conduct under a fee arrangement with any person for money or any other valuable consideration.   A person commits child prostitution, a class 2 felony, by knowingly causing any minor to engage in prostitution, transporting any minor with the intent that the minor engage in prostitution, receiving any benefit related to the prostitution of a minor or financing, managing, supervising, controlling or owning prostitution activity involving a minor.   If the minor is between the ages of 15 and 17, the presumptive term of imprisonment is 10.5 years for a first offense, 15.75 years for an offense with one historical prior felony conviction and 28 years for an offense with two or more historical prior felony convictions.  If the minor is under 15 years of age, the offense is classified as a dangerous crime against children and the offender is subject to enhanced penalties (A.R.S. § 13-3212).

A person also commits child prostitution by knowingly engaging in prostitution with a minor, which is also a class 2 felony.  The presumptive term of imprisonment for a class 2 felony is five years.  However, statute provides a defense to the crime of engaging in prostitution with a minor who is 15, 16 or 17 years of age if the defendant could not reasonably have known the age of the minor at the time of the offense (A.R.S. § 13-3213).   If the court sentences a person to a term of probation for engaging in prostitution with a minor, statute requires the court to order the person to be imprisoned in the county jail for at least 30 days as an initial term of probation (A.R.S. § 13-3212).

The strike everything amendment to S.B. 1423 prescribes terms of imprisonment for engaging in prostitution with a minor.  County jails or the Arizona Department of Corrections (ADC) may experience increased costs associated with incarcerating these offenders.

Provisions

1. Eliminates the defense to the crime of engaging in prostitution with a minor who is 15, 16 or 17 years of age if the defendant could not reasonably have known the age of the minor at the time of the offense.

2. Requires the court to order a person convicted of engaging in prostitution with a minor who is 15, 16 or 17 years of age to be imprisoned in the county jail for not less than 180 consecutive days, instead of 30 days, as an initial term of probation if:

a) the person did not know and could not reasonably have known the age of the minor.

b) the court sentences the person to a term of probation.

3. Allows the court to suspend 90 days of the jail sentence if the person successfully completes an appropriate court ordered education or treatment program and has not previously been convicted of any of the following offenses:

a) engaging in prostitution with a minor.

b) prostitution.

c) a violation of any city or town ordinance that prohibits prostitution and that has the same or substantially similar elements as the state law prohibiting prostitution.

4. Specifies in all other cases that a person convicted of engaging in prostitution with a minor who is 15, 16 or 17 years of age is subject to the following presumptive, aggravated or mitigated terms of imprisonment:

5. Stipulates that a person convicted of engaging in prostitution with a minor who is 15, 16 or 17 years of age is not eligible for suspension of sentence, probation, pardon or release from confinement until the sentence imposed by the court has been served or commuted or the Director of ADC authorizes temporary release.

6. Specifies that it is not a defense to prosecution for child prostitution that the other person is not a minor.

7. Makes a conforming change.

8. Becomes effective on the general effective date.

Prepared by Senate Research