Charged With Solicitation of an Adult?
People pay for sexual favors all the time, and most of the time, they do not think about why they are doing it. There is a reason why sex work is known as the oldest profession. If police catch you in the wrong place at the wrong time, where they appear to be a customer of a brothel or a shady massage parlor, the thoughts that flood your mind are not underlying societal factors that led to this situation. You don’t think, “Dating is equally transactional,” or, “Physical intimacy is less risky than emotional intimacy.” Instead, you think about plausible deniability, about what is known in legal terms as reasonable doubt. You wonder if the encounter that the police saw counts as sexual intimacy; you put a $20 bill in her belt and then went back to her seat, while she kept dancing on the stage. You also wonder whether there is reasonable doubt about whether there was a financial transaction or any plans for one; it is not a crime for two strangers to meet while drinking at a bar and then go to a motel on Dania Beach together. The good news is that solicitation of an adult is not the worst sex crime conviction; it is not even a felony if it is a first offense. Of course, with any criminal charge, you have the right to fight it, and it is in your interest to do so if there is reasonable doubt about your guilt. Here, our Miami sex crimes defense attorney explains the criminal charge of soliciting an adult, the penalties for a conviction for this charge, and defenses that might cast doubt on the state’s allegations of soliciting an adult.
Five Men in Palm Beach County Arrested for Solicitation After Sting Operation
In May 2026, the West Palm Beach Police Department conducted a sting operation that led to the arrest of five men. The defendants are now facing charges for soliciting an adult. Published news reports gave few details about the operation, but it appears that it involved confidential informants or undercover officers pretending that they were willing to accept payment in exchange for sexual favors and then additional officers appearing on the scene and arresting the prospective customers when they offered to pay, or when money changed hands. The sting operation may also have involved the exchange of text messages between prospective clients and confidential informants posing as sex workers.
Penalties for Solicitation of an Adult
Charges of solicitation of an adult apply if you offer to pay someone for sexual intimacy, and the person is at least 18 years old. Solicitation is an inchoate offense, which means that the attempt is what counts as a crime, even if the anticipated sexual encounter never takes place.
A first offense conviction for solicitation of an adult is a first-degree misdemeanor. You do not get a felony conviction on your record, so if the first offense solicitation is the only conviction on your record, you can truthfully tell prospective employers that you have never been convicted of a felony. Misdemeanor convictions also do not cost you your voting rights; you can even vote from county jail while serving a sentence for a misdemeanor conviction.
First degree misdemeanor convictions, including those for soliciting an adult, include up to one year in jail, up to one year of probation, and a criminal fine not to exceed $1,000. Soliciting an adult also warrants a civil fine of $5,000. You must also attend a sex trafficking education program and undergo sexual transmitted infection (STI) testing. If you were in a car when the solicitation occurred, your vehicle will be impounded for 60 days.
Defenses to Charges of Solicitation of an Adult
You can be acquitted of solicitation charges if you can prove that there is reasonable doubt about whether your words and actions constitute solicitation. For example, if the main evidence against you is a text message exchange, you might argue that there is another plausible interpretation for the messages. Maybe you were using vague language in an effort to buy something G-rated, or maybe you were just flirting with your crush, but no one intended to exchange money for sex. Perhaps your chat partner offered sex in exchange for money, but after she did this, you stopped responding to her messages.
Contact Our Criminal Defense Attorneys
A South Florida criminal defense lawyer can help you if you are facing criminal charges for soliciting an adult. Contact Ratzan & Faccidomo in Miami, Florida for a confidential consultation about your case.
Source:
cbs12.com/news/local/five-nabbed-in-west-palm-beach-prostitution-sting-palm-beach-county-prostitution-operation-crime-arrests-solicitation-of-prostitution-west-palm-beach-police-department
