Prostitution and Related Offenses in New Jersey

N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1 · Public Order & Disorderly Persons Offenses

What the law says

The section prohibits prostitution and related conduct, including promoting prostitution, compelling another person to engage in or promote prostitution, and specified conduct involving a child or a spouse. It also prohibits personally offering sexual activity in exchange for something of economic value.

Depending on how it's graded, this offense is either an indictable crime, prosecuted in the Superior Court in the county where it happened, or a disorderly persons offense heard in municipal court. Indictable charges go through grand jury review. Prosecutors sometimes downgrade them to municipal court.

What the State must prove

To convict, the prosecutor must prove each element beyond a reasonable doubt. Under N.J.S.A. 2C:34-1, that means:

• The actor engages in prostitution as a patron.
• The actor promotes prostitution by engaging in one or more of the listed forms of promotion: keeping or managing a house of prostitution or prostitution business; procuring an inmate or a place for an inmate; encouraging or causing another to become or remain a prostitute; soliciting a person to patronize a prostitute; procuring a prostitute for a patron; transporting a person into or within New Jersey, or procuring or paying for transportation, for the purpose of promoting prostitution; or knowingly permitting a controlled place to be regularly used for prostitution or failing to make a reasonable effort to abate that use.
• The actor knowingly promotes prostitution of a child under 18; a mistaken belief that the child was 18 or older is no defense, even if reasonable.
• The actor knowingly promotes prostitution of the actor’s child, ward, or another person for whose care the actor is responsible.
• The actor compels another to engage in or promote prostitution, or promotes prostitution of the actor’s spouse.
• The actor knowingly engages in prostitution with a person under 18, enters or remains in a house of prostitution to engage in sexual activity with a child under 18, or solicits or requests a child under 18 to engage in sexual activity; a mistaken belief that the child was 18 or older is no defense, even if reasonable.
• The actor engages in prostitution by personally offering sexual activity in exchange for something of economic value.

How the charge is graded

• An offense under subsection b. constitutes a crime of the first degree if the offense falls within paragraph (3) or (4) of that subsection.
• An offense under subsection b. constitutes a crime of the second degree if the offense falls within paragraph (7) of that subsection.
• An offense under subsection b. constitutes a crime of the third degree if the offense falls within paragraph (5) or (6) of that subsection.
• An offense under paragraph (2) of subsection b. constitutes a crime of the third degree if the conduct falls within subparagraph (a), (b), (c), (f), or (g) of paragraph (4) of subsection a. Otherwise the offense is a crime of the fourth degree.
• An offense under subsection b. constitutes a disorderly persons offense if the offense falls within paragraph (1) of that subsection except that a second or third conviction for such an offense constitutes a crime of the fourth degree, and a fourth or subsequent conviction for such an offense constitutes a crime of the third degree.
• Where a motor vehicle was used in the commission of any offense under paragraph (1) of subsection b., the court shall suspend for six months the driving privilege of any such offender who has a valid driver's license issued by this State.
• An offense under subsection b. constitutes a disorderly persons offense if the offense falls within paragraph (8) of that subsection, except that a second or subsequent conviction for such an offense constitutes a crime of the fourth degree.

Penalties in the statute

• Where a motor vehicle was used in the commission of any offense under paragraph (1) of subsection b., the court shall suspend for six months the driving privilege of an offender who has a valid driver's license issued by this State. Upon conviction, the court shall immediately collect the offender's driver's license and forward it, along with a report stating the first and last day of the suspension, to the New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission.
• In addition to any fine, fee, assessment, or penalty authorized under Title 2C, a person convicted of an offense under paragraph (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), or (7) of subsection b. shall be assessed a penalty of at least $10,000 but not more than $50,000, except if the offense involved promotion of the prostitution of a child under the age of 18, the penalty shall be at least $25,000.

General sentencing ranges

Unless a statute sets a different penalty, New Jersey's general sentencing laws (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-6, 2C:43-8, and 2C:43-3) set these maximums:

Other rules that can matter

• "Prostitution" is sexual activity with another person in exchange for something of economic value, or the offer or acceptance of an offer to engage in sexual activity in exchange for something of economic value.
• "Sexual activity" includes, but is not limited to, sexual intercourse, including genital-genital, oral-genital, anal-genital, and oral-anal contact, whether between persons of the same or opposite sex; masturbation; touching of the genitals, buttocks, or female breasts; sadistic or masochistic abuse; and other deviate sexual relations.
• "House of prostitution" is any place where prostitution or promotion of prostitution is regularly carried on by one person under the control, management, or supervision of another.
• A person, other than the prostitute or the prostitute's minor child or other legal dependent incapable of self-support, who is supported in whole or substantial part by the proceeds of prostitution is presumed to be knowingly promoting prostitution.
• It is an affirmative defense that, during the alleged offense, the defendant was a victim of human trafficking pursuant to section 1 of P.L.2005, c.77 (C.2C:13-8) or was compelled by another to engage in sexual activity, regardless of the defendant's age.
• A fine set forth in N.J.S.2C:43-3 imposed by a municipal court for a disorderly persons offense under this section is collected by the municipal court administrator and paid into the municipal treasury of the municipality where the offense was committed.
• Penalties under subsection f. are forwarded to the Department of the Treasury for deposit in the "Human Trafficking Survivor's Assistance Fund" established by section 2 of P.L.2013, c.51 (C.52:17B-238).

Common defense strategies

Every case turns on its facts, but defenses we often explore include:

• Free-speech and protected-conduct defenses
• Lack of the required purpose to harass, alarm, or annoy
• Witness and video evidence that undercuts the complaint
• Conditional dismissal (N.J.S.A. 2C:43-13.1) for eligible first-time municipal court defendants

What to do right now

1. Don't discuss the facts with police, the alleged victim, or anyone on a jail phone or social media.
2. Write down everything you remember, including names, times, and locations.
3. Keep every document you received, such as the complaint, summons, and release conditions.
4. Follow all release and no-contact conditions exactly.
5. Call a New Jersey criminal defense lawyer before your first court date.

How we help

Edward G. Appel has defended New Jersey clients since 1988 in municipal and Superior Courts in all 21 counties. We review the discovery, look for weaknesses in the State's case, file motions where they're warranted, and push for dismissals, downgrades, or diversion before you face a trial. Call 856-856-2373 for a free, confidential consultation about your Prostitution and Related Offenses charge.

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Disclaimer: This page is general information about New Jersey law, not legal advice, and doesn't create an attorney-client relationship. Prior results don't guarantee a similar outcome.