Felony Child Prostitution (with Prior Felony Conviction) Reduced to Pandering with Probation and 15 Days in Jail – State v. Mr. K (DMC No. 13115) (Maricopa County Superior Court CR2014-113198): Mr. K responded to an ad on Backpage.com for an escort. The police claimed that there was a phone conversation in which he agreed to pay $60 for sex. However, no phone recordings were ever produced.
The police did have text conversations in which he asked how old the undercover Officer was, and the undercover Officer said “16”. He then asked if she was working for the “cops” and asked for a real picture. They made arrangements to meet the next day in downtown Phoenix. During a text conversation the next day, again it was confirmed that $60 would be the price for “regular sex”. He then met her downtown and was immediately arrested. The original charge had a range of 7 to 21 years in prison if convicted. Because of Mr. K’s prior conviction, the amount in prison on the minimum end was even higher. We were able to produce the Psycho-Sexual Risk Evaluation to the Prosecutor showing that Mr. K was not a risk to re- offend. In addition, because of lost recording of the alleged conversations, the State ran the risk of having a Willetts instruction presented at trial which could potentially cost them the case. Because of all of this, they agreed to extend an offer of simple Pandering with Probation and zero days in jail. Also, Mr. K was not required to register as a sex offender.