Attorneys for Soliciting Charges in Columbus, Ohio
There are quite a few men in Central Ohio who have succumb to provocative postings on backpage.com or similar websites. What may have seemed as though a harmless enough encounter in a hotel room quickly turns into a nightmare as the police come busting through the hotel door. If you've been subject of a police sting and charged with soliciting then you should contact a criminal defense attorney as soon as possibe. In Columbus and Central Ohio, there are two different possible charges you could have been charged with: 2307.24 under the Columbus City Code, or 2907.23 under the Ohio Revised Code. The charges are similar, but which one you were charged with may depend on your geographic location where the incident occurred. Criminal defense attorney Evan T. Engler, partner at Harris & Engler, helps individuals who have been charged with soliciting in the Columbus and greater central Ohio areas. The Columbus City Code provides as follows:Columbus City Code section 2307.24 - Soliciting
(A) No person shall solicit another to engage with such other person in sexual activity for hire.(B) Whoever violates this section is guilty of soliciting, a misdemeanor of the first degree.
(C) If a person is convicted of or pleads guilty to a violation of this section or an attempt to commit a violation of this section and if the person in committing or attempting to commit the violation, was in, was on, or used a motor vehicle, the court, in addition to or independent of all other penalties imposed for the violation, shall impose upon the offender a class six suspension of the person's driver's license, commercial driver's license, temporary instruction permit, probationary license, or nonresident operating privilege from the range specified in division (A)(6) of Section 4510.02 of the Ohio Revised Code.
Note that the charge has more severe consequences if the illegal act was committed, or attempted to be committed using a motor vehicle. Whoever is found guilty of Soliciting will be found guilty of a First Degree Misdemeanor, the highest degree misdemeanor which carries a maximum potential penalty of not more than 180 days in jail and not more than $1,000 in fines. The Ohio Revised Code section 2907.23 similarly provides as follows:
Ohio Revised Code 2907.23 - Enticement or Solicitation
(A) No person, knowingly and for gain, shall do either of the following: (1) Entice or solicit another to patronize a prostitute or brothel;
(2) Procure a prostitute for another to patronize, or take or direct another at the other's request to any place for the purpose of patronizing a prostitute.
(C) Whoever violates this section is guilty of procuring. Except as otherwise provided in this division, procuring is a misdemeanor of the first degree. If the prostitute who is procured, patronized, or otherwise involved in a violation of division (A)(2) of this section is under sixteen years of age at the time of the violation, regardless of whether the offender who violates division (A)(2) of this section knows the prostitute's age, or if a prostitute who engages in sexual activity for hire in premises used in violation of division (B) of this section is under sixteen years of age at the time of the violation, regardless of whether the offender who violates division (B) of this section knows the prostitute's age, procuring is a felony of the fourth degree. If the prostitute who is procured, patronized, or otherwise involved in a violation of division (A)(2) of this section is sixteen or seventeen years of age at the time of the violation or if a prostitute who engages in sexual activity for hire in premises used in violation of division (B) of this section is sixteen or seventeen years of age at the time of the violation, procuring is a felony of the fifth degree.
The Ohio Revised Code has a broader net to charge people with Procuring. People can be charged under the Ohio Revised Code for Procuring for basically enticing a person to engage in prostitution (or enticing a "John") or by engaging a prostitute. Under the Ohio Revised Code, the criminal offense is more serious if the prostitute is under sixteen years of age - then the crime is a felony of the 4th degree. If the prostitute is sixteen or seventeen then the crime is still more serious as a 5th degree felony, but slightly less serious than if the prostitute was under sixteen years of age.
