Felony Child Prostitution Reduced to Pandering with Probation & Zero Days in Jail – State v. Mr. W (DMC No. 12864) (Maricopa County Superior Court CR2014-005348): Mr. W responded to an escort ad on Backpage.com. The ad stated that the girl was 22 years old and contained a photograph of a fully developed woman. When he responded via text, the woman turned out to be an undercover officer posing as a 16 year old girl. She stated that she wanted Mr. W to bring her cigarettes, because she had lost her fake ID. They also discussed various sex acts.
When he arrived at the hotel room, he gave the undercover Officer cigarettes and $100. He then discussed various sex acts. The undercover Officer went into the bathroom to “freshen up”, and then other Officers barged into the room and arrested Mr. W.
He was charged with Child Prostitution, which carried a range of 7 to 21 years in prison. If convicted, he also would have to register as a sex offender. We were able to show the Prosecutor that Mr. W did not actually believe the undercover Officer was underage, and once he saw her, this was confirmed. If he would have thought she was underage, he would have immediately turned around, left the cigarettes with the girl and left the room. The undercover Officer was actually 28 years of age. Because the Prosecutor risked losing a trial, they agreed to offer a charge of Pandering with 2 years of Probation and zero days in jail. Also, there was no requirement to register as a sex offender.