I understand this is a legal question and would in most cases be in that forum.
But I am trying to get a general consensus of what most board members , "average joes" and fellow providers think about this. Not just the ATTYS.
When I first became familiar with this industry years ago. The number one rule was Never NEVER talk service for money!
Is that no longer the case?
WHY I ASK....
I am asked often by ladies just starting out and veterans what to do about the "Rates and Menu Please" question they get so often on this board in PMs, and even mentioned in threads and review comments.
Not long ago a lady explained to a gent who wrote asking for Rates & Menu and explained she didn't discuss those things and that her activities were listed on P411 which is a much more discreet Internet entity that ECCIE so maybe he should join so he would not have to ask. Explaining it was not a smart thing to be asking.
Well he responded by saying he was a member but he thought easier to just ask. Turns out he had 8 oks there so I would surmise he is safe legally and an experienced hobbyist. So why be careless or was he being???? Not to mention after a review by someone else he slammed her for giving him a lecture.
SO I search for clarity and others thoughts on the fact that male and female members here seem to feel bullet proof???
Many members have seem to misplace the age old " this is about companionship {wink} with a Screw it I am paying for sex and I want a guaranteed of what I am getting for my money attitude!
I mean I understand this is no longer 1960 and we show people screwing on TV and sex is so mainstream but isn't Prostitution still illegal in most states in the US and if so then isn't asking what on the menu wrong and especially associating a rate with it.?????
Honestly the shear fact that Activities and a rate can be listed in reviews baffles me.
The one thing I was always clear on is It is against the law to offer sex for money or to offer meney for sex...and anytime the discussion of the two come up it should be avoided. ( or at least I thought) It's the 1# way to be in trouble.
I was reminded of it again when reading this thread
http://www.eccie.net/showthread.php?t=766609
From a legal stand point I want some clarification.
Thanks to the other post here is penal code for Texas: & the opinion of an atty who apparently is very familiar.
It wouldn't violate Texas state law to merely communicate with a provider on Eccie. However, if the communication was an offer or acceptance to engage in sexual conduct for a fee, the communication could prove up the offense of prostitution.
The following is the Texas state statute making plain-vanilla prostitution* a crime:
Quote:
TEXAS PENAL CODE SECTION 43.02. PROSTITUTION.
(a) A person commits an offense if he knowingly:
(1) offers to engage, agrees to engage, or engages in sexual conduct for a fee; or
(2) solicits another in a public place to engage with him in sexual conduct for hire.
(b) An offense is established under Subsection (a)(1) whether the actor is to receive or pay a fee. An offense is established under Subsection (a)(2) whether the actor solicits a person to hire him or offers to hire the person solicited.
(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor....
See Texas Penal Code § 43.02 (emphasis above is mine). A Class B misdemeanor is punishable by up to 180 days in county jail and/or a $2,000 fine.
(*By "plain-vanilla prostitution," I mean prostitution without an aggravating factor, such as it is a second or more commission of the offense, or prostitution involving compulsion or a minor.)
So to summarize, a person can commit the offense of prostitution in any of four ways:
(1) by making an offer to engage in sexual conduct for a fee,
(2) by accepting an offer to engage in sexual conduct for a fee,
(3) by soliciting a person in a public place to engage with the person in sexual conduct for hire (I take "for hire" to mean the same as "for a fee"), or
(4) engaging in sexual conduct for a fee.
The medium to commit the offense is irrelevant. For example, I could commit prostitution by making an offer to a provider to engage in sexual conduct for a fee by transmitting the offer in speech, writing (including an email, text, or note), pictogram, smoke signal, or even telepathically, I guess. Haha.
With the foregoing in mind, if your office computer contains a communication that could be read as either an offer or acceptance to engage in sexual conduct for a fee, it could be used as evidence in making a prostitution case against you.
But in a real-world context, a number of steps would have to be taken for you to be charged. First, a person would have to find the communication. Second, the person would need to transmit the communication to the relevant law enforcement authority. Third, the authority would need to make a report and convey it to the district attorney. Finally, the DA would need to charge you. (In Texas, a person is usually charged with a misdemeanor by a DA signing a charging instrument called an "information.") In my opinion, based on having handled hundreds of prostitution cases in Texas over more than 20 years, the likelihood of all these steps occurring is slim to none. However, my opinion might change if your computer has many offers and acceptances recorded on it.
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So I put this out for all to express their knowledge opinion and conjecture about!