Pearland Prostitution Defense Attorney
Prostitution and solicitation charges in Pearland carry consequences that extend well beyond the Brazoria County courthouse. Whether you’re facing accusations of prostitution, solicitation, promotion, or compelling prostitution, these charges threaten your employment, professional licenses, and reputation throughout the community.
Texas law treats prostitution offenses seriously, with solicitation automatically charged as a felony carrying potential state jail time and permanent criminal record implications.
Our experienced Pearland prostitution defense lawyers understand that many prostitution arrests stem from aggressive undercover sting operations where police push the boundaries of entrapment.
Our method looks at every part of your arrest, from the first time the police talked to you to any recorded conversations or text messages, in order to find any violations of your rights and weaknesses in the state’s case.
These cases move quickly through the Brazoria County court system, and prosecutors often seek harsh penalties even for first-time offenders, making it essential to work with an experienced prostitution defense attorney in Pearland, Texas who understands local court procedures.
What Is Prostitution Under Texas Law?
Under Texas Penal Code § 43.02, prostitution occurs when someone knowingly offers or agrees to receive a fee from another person in exchange for sexual conduct. The law is clear that both the offer and the agreement count as prostitution, even if no sexual activity actually takes place.
Early intervention by an experienced criminal defense attorney can mean the difference between a dismissal, diversion program, or felony conviction that follows you for life.
If you’ve been arrested or are under investigation for prostitution-related charges, you need immediate legal guidance from our Pearland prostitution defense lawyers to protect your rights and preserve your defense options.
Prosecutors must prove three specific elements to convict you of prostitution:
- Knowing Agreement: You intentionally agreed to the arrangement, not by accident or misunderstanding.
- Fee Exchange: Money or anything of value was offered or discussed as payment.
- Sexual Conduct: The activity agreed upon meets Texas’s legal definition of sexual conduct.
Solicitation charges apply to the person offering to pay, and these carry much harsher penalties than basic prostitution charges.
Is Solicitation of Prostitution a Felony in Texas?
Yes, solicitation of prostitution is automatically a state jail felony in Texas under Penal Code § 43.021. This means even first-time offenders face felony consequences from the moment they’re charged.
Law enforcement typically builds solicitation cases using evidence from undercover sting operations. Common evidence includes text messages between you and undercover officers, recorded phone conversations, communications through dating apps or websites, and testimony from the undercover officer involved.
The state must prove you knowingly offered or agreed to pay a fee for sexual conduct. An experienced Pearland sex crimes attorney will examine every piece of evidence for inconsistencies, procedural errors, or constitutional violations.
These felony charges carry severe penalties that extend far beyond jail time in Brazoria County courts.
What Are the Penalties in Brazoria County?
Texas law imposes different penalties based on the specific charge and your criminal history. Understanding these consequences helps you grasp what you’re facing.
First Offense and Repeat Offense Ranges
| Charge | Classification | Jail Time | Fine |
| Prostitution (1st) | Class B Misdemeanor | Up to 180 days | Up to $2,000 |
| Prostitution (2nd+) | Class A Misdemeanor or State Jail Felony | Up to 1 year or 2 years | Up to $4,000 or $10,000 |
| Solicitation | State Jail Felony | 180 days to 2 years | Up to $10,000 |
Enhancements and Collateral Consequences
Certain factors can elevate charges to more serious levels. Allegations involving someone under 18, organized criminal activity, or multiple prior convictions may result in enhanced charges or penalties.
What Is Promotion or Aggravated Promotion?
Texas recognizes more serious offenses when someone profits from prostitution beyond just engaging in it. Promotion of prostitution involves receiving money from prostitution proceeds or soliciting customers for a prostitute.
Aggravated promotion applies when a person manages or controls a prostitution enterprise involving two or more people. This typically becomes a second-degree felony, with penalties ranging from 2 to 20 years in prison.
Prosecutors build these cases using financial records, surveillance evidence, communications between parties, and witness testimony. Our skilled legal team at Scheiner Law Sex Crimes Defense Lawyers knows how to challenge this complex evidence and question the state’s interpretation of business relationships.
The most serious prostitution-related charge is compelling prostitution, which carries life-changing consequences.
What Is Compelling Prostitution?
Compelling prostitution under Texas Penal Code § 43.05 represents the most severe prostitution-related offense in Texas. This charge applies when someone causes another person to engage in prostitution through force, threats, or fraud.
The law creates two main scenarios:
- Force, threats, or fraud against any person: This is a first-degree felony punishable by 5 to 99 years or life in prison.
- Involving anyone under 18: The charge is treated more seriously and can result in enhanced felony penalties.
These cases often involve allegations of human trafficking, making federal charges a possibility as well. The stakes couldn’t be higher when facing compelling prostitution accusations.
Can Texas Stings Be Entrapment?
Many people arrested in prostitution stings believe they were entrapped, but Texas law sets a very high bar for this defense. Entrapment requires proving that the police induced you to commit a crime you otherwise wouldn’t have committed.
Courts allow law enforcement to create opportunities for crime. Simply responding to an undercover officer’s advertisement or engaging in conversation doesn’t constitute entrapment.
More effective defenses focus on other weaknesses:
Challenging the evidence:
Was the agreement clear and explicit?
Attacking police procedures:
Were your rights violated during the investigation?
Questioning the stop:
Did officers have probable cause to detain you?
Examining communications:
Do text messages actually show an agreement to exchange money for sex?
Our attorneys will identify the strongest defense strategy based on your specific case facts.
How We Defend Prostitution and Solicitation Charges
Our defense approach starts immediately and focuses on protecting your rights while building the strongest possible case. We don’t wait for prosecutors to act.
Preserve Evidence and Your Privacy
We will advise you immediately on how to protect potential evidence that could help your defense. Don’t delete text messages, emails, or call logs from your phone. Save location data from apps like Google Maps or Uber that might show where you actually were.
We also help you document your version of events while the details are fresh. This written account becomes crucial for building your defense strategy.
Attack the Stop, Search, and Statements
Every arrest must be supported by probable cause, and every search must comply with constitutional requirements. We examine whether officers had legal justification to stop, detain, or arrest you.
If police violated your Miranda rights or obtained statements through improper questioning, we file motions to suppress that evidence. Without your statements, prosecutors often struggle to prove their case.
Challenge Decoy and Digital Evidence
Sting operations rely heavily on recorded conversations and text messages. We analyze every word for ambiguity, misunderstanding, or evidence that no explicit agreement existed.
Many cases involving false accusations fall apart when we show that conversations were vague, that you never explicitly agreed to exchange money for sex, or that you were confused about what was being discussed.
Negotiate Dismissals, Diversion, or Reduction
Our primary goal is always dismissal of all charges. For first-time offenders, we often secure entry into pretrial diversion programs that result in dismissal and protect your record.
When dismissal isn’t possible, we work to reduce felony charges to misdemeanors or negotiate deferred adjudication that keeps convictions off your permanent record.
What Should You Do in the First 48 Hours?
The most critical rule following an arrest is to remain silent. Many people mistakenly believe they can explain their way out of a charge, but law enforcement will use any statement you make to solidify their case. Politely inform the officers that you are exercising your right to an attorney and refuse to answer questions until your counsel is present.
Avoiding Contact and Obstruction
You must strictly avoid any attempt to contact the undercover decoy or other officers involved in the sting. Any outreach can be legally interpreted as witness intimidation or obstruction of justice, which are often prosecuted more severely than the initial charge.
Similarly, do not delete text messages or digital records, as destroying potential evidence can lead to separate felony charges.
Immediate Legal Protection
Early intervention is your best defense against a permanent criminal record. Contact us as soon as possible to begin a private investigation into the legality of the sting. While the event is still fresh in your mind, document every detail of your interaction with the police in a private journal to share only with your attorney.
Professional and Immigration Consequences of a Conviction
A prostitution or solicitation conviction carries penalties that extend far beyond the courtroom, potentially devastating your professional and personal life. In Texas, these offenses are often classified as crimes of “moral turpitude,” a legal term for conduct that violates the community’s moral standards.
This classification triggers a chain reaction of collateral consequences that can result in the loss of a hard-earned career or your legal right to remain in the country.
Impact on Professional Licensing
Professional licensing boards in Texas hold their members to high ethical standards and view solicitation or prostitution as direct reflections of a person’s character and fitness.
For medical professionals, including doctors and nurses, a conviction can lead to a mandatory investigation, license suspension, or permanent revocation.
Educators and school employees risk losing their teaching certificates, while financial and legal professionals may face disciplinary proceedings that end in disbarment or the loss of their ability to practice.
Even if you receive deferred adjudication, these boards often have the authority to access those records and take independent disciplinary action against you.
Severe Immigration Consequences
If you’re not a citizen and you get convicted of solicitation, which is a felony in Texas as of 2021, it can be awful.
Because it is considered a crime involving moral turpitude, it can make a lawful permanent resident deportable or an applicant for a visa or green card inadmissible. This means you could be barred from re-entering the United States after international travel or denied a renewal of your legal status.
Our firm works in tandem with immigration specialists to navigate these complexities and pursue outcomes that minimize the risk of removal from the country.
Protecting Your Record and Reputation
Preserving your reputation begins the moment we are hired, as we take immediate steps to limit public exposure and manage your digital footprint.
If your case is dismissed or you are found not guilty, we can pursue an expunction to permanently destroy all arrest records, allowing you to deny that it ever occurred. In cases involving deferred adjudication, we can seek a non-disclosure order to seal the records from public view.
While these orders do not hide the record from licensing boards or law enforcement, they prevent employers, landlords, and the general public from seeing the incident during a standard background check.
Why Hire Scheiner DWI & Criminal Defense Lawyers?
Facing these charges requires a defense team that understands the local Pearland court system and the high stakes involved for your professional life. Grant Scheiner is Board Certified in Criminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization, a distinction held by only a small percentage of Texas attorneys.
With over 30 years of experience and a reputation for aggressive advocacy, our firm treats every case as if it is going to trial. This meticulous preparation gives us the leverage needed to negotiate for dismissals or reduced charges that protect your future.
If you are concerned about how an arrest will affect your license or status, contact us today to begin building your defense.
We understand that prostitution charges threaten everything you’ve worked to build. Our job is to protect your future while aggressively defending your rights.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Solicitation a Felony in Texas?
Yes, solicitation of prostitution is a state jail felony in Texas under Penal Code § 43.021, punishable by 180 days to 2 years in state jail and fines up to $10,000.
What Is the Minimum Sentence for Prostitution in Texas?
First-offense prostitution is a Class B misdemeanor with no mandatory minimum sentence, but judges can impose up to 180 days in county jail and $2,000 in fines.
How Do You Beat a Solicitation Charge in Texas?
We beat solicitation charges by challenging the evidence, proving no explicit agreement existed to exchange money for sex, suppressing illegally obtained statements, and exposing procedural errors in the investigation.
Do First-Time Offenders Get Diversion in Brazoria County?
Many first-time offenders qualify for pretrial diversion programs in Brazoria County, which can result in the complete dismissal of charges upon successful completion of program requirements.
How Much Does a Prostitution Defense Attorney Cost?
Attorney fees vary based on case complexity and the severity of charges, but we provide transparent pricing during your free consultation after reviewing your specific situation.
Charged With Prostitution or Solicitation in Pearland, Texas? Contact Us Today
Prostitution charges in Pearland require immediate legal action. The prosecution is already building its case against you, and every day you wait gives them a greater advantage.
We offer free, confidential consultations and are available 24/7 to discuss your case. Our experienced team is ready to fight for your rights and protect your future in Pearland and throughout Brazoria County.
Don’t let prostitution charges destroy everything you’ve worked to build. Call us now for the aggressive defense you need.
Contact Scheiner DWI & Criminal Defense Lawyers now:
- Main office: (832) 864-5240
- After hours text: 713-581-4540
- Spanish language: 281-905-2399