Los Angeles Escorting without a Permit (LAMC 103.107 and LAMC 103.107.1)
Sting operations by undercover police officers are routinely done throughout Los Angeles County. Advertisements posted on Backpage or Craigslist may subject a defendant to prostitution or escorting charges. Escorting without a permit is a violation of Los Angeles Municipal Code that is in connection to an arrest for prostitution. LAMC 103.107(b) states that “[n]o person shall conduct, manage or carry on any escort bureau without a written permit from the Board.” No escorting permit will be issued to the person or entity unless the police board is furnished with satisfactory evidence of the good moral character of such escort. Vice officers frequently routinely arrest and charge females with escorting without a permit and/or prostitution. The defendant’s classified or Internet advertisement is used as circumstantial evidence of her intent to engage in an act of escorting without a permit and/or prostitution. A criminal conviction for escorting has the stigma attached to it that may affect your future employment. If you have been arrested for escorting without a permit in Los Angeles, call the attorneys at KLG for a defense consultation.
Los Angeles Municipal Code Section 103.107
LAMC 103.107(a) defines an escort bureau as “any business, agency or person who, for a fee, commission, hire, reward or profit, furnishes or offers to furnish names of persons, or who introduces, furnishes or arranges for persons who may accompany other persons to or about social affairs, entertainments or places of amusement, or who may consort with others about any place of public resort or within any private quarters.”
LAMC 103.107(b) states “no person shall conduct, manage or carry on any escort bureau without a written permit from the Board. No permit under this section shall be issued to, or in the name of, any organization, group, corporation, partnership or any entity other than an individual person. The business may be advertised and carried on by the permittee under a fictitious name in the manner permitted by law if such fictitious name is first approved by the Board.”
Los Angeles Municipal Code 103.107.1 – Escorting Permit
(a) Escort Defined. As used in this article, “Escort” means any person who, for a fee, commission, hire, reward or profit, accompanies other persons to or about social affairs, entertainments or places of amusement or consorts with others about any place of public resort or within any private quarters.
(b) Permit Required. No person shall be engaged as an Escort without a written permit from the Board. Such permit shall be issued to the address of the employer.
(c) Employment Prerequisite. Before an application for an Escort will be acted upon by the Board, the applicant shall present satisfactory evidence that such person is at least 18 years of age and that employment has been offered by an Escort Bureau under permit by the Board, including name and address of prospective employer, and such employment is contingent upon the issuance of said permit.
(d) Identification Card. Each permittee shall be issued an identification card by the Board and shall carry such card when acting as an escort. Each permittee shall immediately surrender to the Board any identification card issued by the Board upon suspension, revocation or cancelation of the permit, and upon leaving employment.
(e) Change of Location. A change of location may be endorsed on a permit by the Board or its designated representative upon written application by the permittee, accompanied by the change of location fee as prescribed.
(f) Persons Under 18. No permittee shall escort or perform any activity covered by this section or offer to escort or perform any other activity covered by this section to any person under 18 years of age, except at the special instance and request of the parent, guardian or other person in lawful custody of the person upon whose behalf the escort service is engaged.
If you have been arrested for solicitation, prostitution, or escorting without a permit, call for the Khachatourians Law Group for a defense consultation. (See Penal Code 647(b), California Penal Code 653.22 & LAMC 103.107.1)