Many people don't think much about flirting in internet chat rooms on companionship sites, but take it to the next level and you could wind up charged with prostitution, solicitation or pandering (pimping). The lack of actual face time typical of internet liaisons seems to be an invitation to lie -- about height, weight, interests, marital status, age and often intent. People reinvent themselves as the person they want to be. Their unsuspecting chat room buddy has no way of seeing through their virtual disguise. That charming person you so blithely pour your heart out to over the internet could be a prostitute, pimp, sexual predator or cop. In fact, these days law enforcement officers regularly use the internet to entrap sexual predators preying on children and teens.
Websites offering companionship services and online personal ads may in reality be cover ups for prostitution. Incidents have become so numerous that law enforcement agencies are targeting online personal ads that appear on CraigsList.org in prostitution sting operations. The unsuspecting and honest can be easily duped by these internet Lolitas and Lotharios. The loneliness common among harried, single professionals who yearn for a relationship but have no time to date can make them easy targets for sexual lies and predation. Seniors who are socially isolated, particularly after the death of a spouse, are even more at risk.
When a face-to-face meeting is eventually arranged, trusting souls eager for companionship may fail to adequately protect themselves from harsh reality. They may not realize until too late that the "friend" they are meeting is in reality a prostitute, pimp or sexual predator. They not only place themselves at risk during such a meeting, but may be unwittingly trapped in a police sting operation.
California aggressively prosecutes both the prostitute and the "John." Innocent citizens with no criminal history can find themselves accused and arrested for prostitution or solicitation through simple naivete or by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. You suffer public humiliation and the loss of your reputation. Penalties can include jail time, a criminal record, fines, loss of employment and certain licenses, loss of government or security clearances, and more. If you are being investigated or charged with prostitution, you should immediately contact a skilled criminal defense attorney.
