Louisiana sting uncovers Internet prostitution under what critics callDraconian laws

[caption id="attachment_4446" align="alignleft" width="300" caption="Internet prostitution"][/caption]

Baton Rouge - Carol Forsloff - As part of Louisiana's ongoing efforts to proactively combat crime, BRPD investigators in Baton Rouge conducted last week that resulted in the arrests of 8 accused prostitutes.

The women were soliciting for prostitution on an Internet web site, and were arrested at various local hotels after meeting undercover officers posing as customers.

Several of the arrestees were from out of state and one was only 17 years old. All were booked into the East Baton Rouge Parish Prison.


Prostitution is defined by Louisiana statute 14:82 as (1)"The practice by a person of indiscriminate sexual intercourse with others for compensation and (2) The solicitation by one person of another with the intent to engage in indiscriminate sexual intercourse with the latter for compensation.



The penalties include up to five hundred dollars in fines or six months imprisonment.  On a second conviction, the offender can be fined up to two thousand dollars or for more than two years in prison or both.  The third conviction can bring the offender imprisonment of hard labor up to four years and up to four thousand dollars in penalty fines.





Colorlines reveals that "Of the 861 sex offenders currently registered in New Orleans, 483 were convicted of a crime against nature, according to Doug Cain, a spokesperson with the Louisiana State Police. And of those convicted of a crime against nature, 78 percent are Black and almost all are women."



Being registered as a sex offender carries a heavy penalty for getting jobs near geographic locations where children reside and having certain jobs.





Prostitution laws cover those who entice others into prostitution or are compensated for the practice, such as occurs with so-called johns.  There is, however, no specific penalty under either the prostitution or sex offender law for these people.  David Vitter, for example, the Louisiana Senator who was said to have frequented the services of a brothel, would not fall under these laws.



Critics describe Louisiana sex laws as draconian, but the comparison of the state with others in the United States and with specific countries can be found here.