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Legislation Document
SPONSOR:
Rep. K. Williams & Rep. Griffith & Sen. Poore
Rep. Romer
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
153rd GENERAL ASSEMBLY
HOUSE BILL NO. 409
AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 11 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO PROSTITUTION.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE:
Section 1. Amend § 1352, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 1352. Promoting prostitution in the second degree; class E felony.
(a)
A person is guilty of promoting prostitution in the second degree when the person knowingly
does any of the following
:
(1) Advances or profits from prostitution by managing, supervising,
controlling
controlling, operating, conducting, advertising,
or owning, either alone or in association with others, a house of prostitution or a prostitution business or
enterprise
enterprise, including an illicit massage establishment,
involving prostitution activity by 2 or more
prostitutes; or
prostitutes
.
(2) Advances or profits from prostitution of a person less than 18 years old.
(b)
Promoting prostitution in the second degree is a class E felony.
Section 2. Amend § 1356, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows and by redesignating Delaware Code provisions accordingly:
§ 1356. Definitions relating to prostitution.
As used in §§ 1342-1355 of this title:
(2) “Illicit massage establishment” means an establishment that facilitates prostitution using the cover of either of the following:
a. A massage establishment, as defined in
§ 5302 of Title 24
.
b. A place where the practice of massage and bodywork, as defined in
§ 5302 of Title 24,
is offered.
Section 3. Amend § 761, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 761. Definitions generally applicable to sexual offenses.
(i) “Sexual offense” means any offense defined by §§ 763 through 780, 783(4), 783(6), 783A(4), 783A(6), 787(b)(3), 787(b)(4), 1100A, 1108 through 1112B, 1335(a)(6), 1335(a)(7),
1352(2),
1352(a)(2),
and 1353(2), and 1361(b) of this title.
Section 4. Amend § 787, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 787. Trafficking an individual, forced labor and sexual servitude; class D felony; class C felony; class B felony; class A felony.
(a) For the purposes of this section:
(24) “Sexual activity” means any of the sex-related acts enumerated in § 761 of this title, or in § 1342, § 1351, §
1352(1),
1352(a)(1),
§ 1353(1), § 1354 or § 1355 of this title or sexually-explicit performances;
Section 5. Amend § 4121, Title 11 of the Delaware Code by making deletions as shown by strike through and insertions as shown by underline as follows:
§ 4121. Community notification of sex offenders on probation, parole, conditional release, or release from confinement.
(a) As used in this subchapter:
(4) “Sex offender” means any person who is, or has been:
a. Convicted of any of the offenses specified in §§ 765 through 780, § 787(b)(3)-(4), § 1100A, §§ 1108 through 1112B, § 1335(a)(6), § 1335(a)(7), §
1352(2),
1352(a)(2),
§ 1353(2) or § 1361(b) of this title, or of any attempt or conspiracy to commit any of the aforementioned offenses; or
(d) Sex offenders shall be assigned to a Risk Assessment Tier as follows, unless pursuant to § 4123 of this title, the Family Court has not required a juvenile adjudicated delinquent of a sex offense to register:
(2) Risk Assessment Tier II. — Risk Assessment Tier II. Any sex offender convicted or adjudicated delinquent of any of the following offenses shall be designated by the court to Risk Assessment Tier II:
f. Upon motion of the State, any person convicted of any offense set forth in §§ 761 through 767 or §§ 1108 through 1111 or § 1321(5) or §
1352(2)
1352(a)(2)
or § 1353(2) of this title which is not otherwise specified in this paragraph, or in paragraph (d)(1) of this section, if the sentencing court determines by a preponderance of the evidence after it weighs all relevant evidence which bears upon the particular facts and circumstances or details of the commission of the offense and the character and propensities of the offender, that public safety will be enhanced by assigning the offender to Risk Assessment Tier II; or
SYNOPSIS
This adds knowingly “operating”, “conducting”, or “advertising” prostitution businesses as acts that constitute promoting prostitution in the second degree under under § 1352 of Title 11. This Act also defines “illicit massage establishment” and clarifies that a person may be guilty of promoting prostitution in the second degree under § 1352 of Title 11 for managing, supervising, and controlling an illicit massage establishment. Likewise, under this Act, a person may be guilty of promoting prostitution in the second degree for operating, conducting, or advertising an illicit massage establishment.
This Act defines “illicit massage establishment” as an establishment that facilitates prostitution using the cover of either of the following:
(1) A massage establishment, as defined in § 5302 of Title 24.
(2) A place where the practice of massage and bodywork, as defined in § 5302 of Title 24, is offered.
This Act’s definition is based on those used by national and state human trafficking prevention organizations.
Law enforcement has noted a trend where an illicit massage establishment is shut down only to be reopened again by the same operators. By ensuring it is clear that promoting prostitution in the second degree is an available offense to charge, this Act intends to dissuade the operation and reopening of illicit massage establishments.
This Act updates internal references elsewhere in the Code to account for the addition of subsections in § 1352 to remove the undesignated paragraph. This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.