The following blog is excerpted from a transcription of an interview with attorney Seth Okin in which he discusses prostitution charges in Maryland. Seth Okin: As the defense, it is important to get any and all discovery from the state.
We would want to know which officer was there and what was said in the ad itself. It is tough in cases like this to show that someone was coerced into something and the prosecution just needs to show that the conversation had some legitimacy. What is very important about the process is what you actually did. Your conduct, whether you knowingly engaged in sex for money, and whether you had knowledge that the sex was for money are all very important.
Knowing that the act itself that you did or had an indication of sex for money is the first thing I look at as the defense attorney. Then I look at whether there was sexual contact.
If you hired someone who came over and gave you a massage, that is not sexual contact. The big thing is if it goes further than that, because then it is sexual in nature. We also want to address who the individual is, whether there was sex for hire, and whether this person is a prostitute or someone who is looking for money.
You would also have to appear on the sex offender registry. Seth Okin: The biggest thing that most of my clients will ask me about if they were lured into a situation is entrapment. They brought me there and they made me do it.
