Arkansas PROSTITUTION LAWS

Arkansas Prostitution Laws | Definitions – A.C.A. § 5-70-101

(1) “Advances prostitution” means a person if, acting other than as a prostitute or a patron of a prostitute, that person knowingly:

(A) Causes or aids a person to commit or engage in prostitution;

(B) Procures or solicits a patron for prostitution;

(C) Provides a person or premises for prostitution purposes;

(D) Operates or assists in the operation of a house of prostitution or a prostitution enterprise; or

(E) Engages in any other conduct designed to institute, aid, or facilitate an act or enterprise of prostitution;

(2) “Physical force” means any bodily impact, restraint, or confinement or the threat of bodily impact, restraint, or confinement;

(3) “Profits from prostitution” means a person if, acting other than as a prostitute receiving compensation for personally rendered prostitution services, the person accepts or receives money or other property pursuant to an agreement or understanding with any person in which the person participates or is to participate in the proceeds of prostitution; and

(4) “Sexual activity” means sexual intercourse, deviant sexual activity, or sexual contact as defined in § 5-14-101.

Arkansas Prostitution Laws | Prostitution – A.C.A. § 5-70-102

(a) A person commits prostitution if in return for or in expectation of a fee he or she engages in or agrees or offers to engage in sexual activity with any other person.

(b) Prostitution is a:

(1) Class B misdemeanor for the first offense; and

(2) Class A misdemeanor for a second or subsequent offense under this section.

(c) It is not an offense under this section if at the time of the person’s commission of or arrest for an act that meets the elements of the offense of prostitution, the person was a victim of trafficking of persons, § 5-18-103.

(d)

(1) If a law enforcement agency is investigating an offense under this section that has allegedly been committed by a minor, the law enforcement agency shall make every effort to determine whether the minor, at the time of the offense, was a victim of trafficking of persons, § 5-18-103.

(2) If a determination under subdivision (d)(1) of this section is made that the minor was a victim of trafficking of persons, § 5-18-103, the law enforcement agency investigating the offense shall immediately notify the prosecuting attorney.

(e) In addition to any other sentence authorized by this section, a person who violates this section by offering to pay, agreeing to pay, or paying a fee to engage in sexual activity upon conviction shall be ordered to pay a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) to be deposited into the Safe Harbor Fund for Sexually Exploited Children.

Arkansas Prostitution Laws | Sexual Solicitation – A.C.A. § 5-70-103

(a) A person commits the offense of sexual solicitation if he or she:

(1) Offers or agrees to pay a fee to a person to engage in sexual activity with him or her or another person; or

(2) Solicits or requests a person to engage in sexual activity with him or her in return for a fee.

(b) Sexual solicitation is an unclassified misdemeanor with the following sentences:

(1) For a first offense:

(A) No more than ninety (90) days’ imprisonment;

(B) A fine of no more than two thousand dollars ($2,000); or

(C) Both imprisonment and a fine; and

(2) For a second or subsequent offense:

(A) No more than one (1) year of imprisonment;

(B) A fine of no more than three thousand five hundred dollars ($3,500); or

(C) Both imprisonment and a fine.

(c) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the person engaged in an act of sexual solicitation as a result of being a victim of trafficking of persons, § 5-18-103.

(d) In addition to any other sentence authorized by this section, a person who violates this section by offering to pay, agreeing to pay, or paying a fee to engage in sexual activity upon conviction shall be ordered to pay a fine of two hundred fifty dollars ($250) to be deposited into the Safe Harbor Fund for Sexually Exploited Children.

Arkansas Prostitution Laws | Promoting prostitution in the first degree – A.C.A. § 5-70-104

(a) A person commits the offense of promoting prostitution in the first degree if he or she knowingly:

(1) Advances prostitution by compelling a person by physical force or intimidation to engage in prostitution or profits from such coercive conduct by another; or

(2) Advances prostitution or profits from prostitution of a person less than eighteen (18) years of age.

(b) Promoting prostitution in the first degree is a Class D felony.

Arkansas Prostitution Laws | Promoting prostitution in the second degree – A.C.A. § 5-70-105

(a) A person commits the offense of promoting prostitution in the second degree if he or she knowingly advances prostitution or profits from prostitution by managing, supervising, controlling, or owning, either alone or in association with another, a house of prostitution or a prostitution enterprise involving two (2) or more prostitutes.

(b) Promoting prostitution in the second degree is a Class A misdemeanor.

Arkansas Prostitution Laws | Promoting prostitution in the third degree – A.C.A. § 5-70-106

(a) A person commits the offense of promoting prostitution in the third degree if:

(1) Having a possessory or proprietary interest in premises that he or she knows is being used for prostitution, the person fails to make a reasonable effort to halt or abate the use for prostitution; or

(2) He or she knowingly advances prostitution or profits from prostitution.

(b) Promoting prostitution in the third degree is a Class B misdemeanor.