A couple of questions regarding massage parlors in Los Angeles:
If police raid a massage parlor, and I am in it, but am not caught doing anything but getting a massage, can I still be charged with a crime?
If I am caught having sex, then what are the charges and penalities?
Prostitution in California is a misdemeanor. The punishment for misdemeanors is up to a year in the county jail. Repeat offenses for prostitution increase the mandatory minimum time, but it's still max of up to a year.
California Penal Code 647
Every person who commits any of the following acts is guilty of disorderly conduct, a misdemeanor:
(b) Who solicits or who agrees to engage in or who engages in any act of prostitution. A person agrees to engage in an act of prostitution when, with specific intent to so engage, he or she manifests an acceptance of an offer or solicitation to so engage, regardless of whether the offer or solicitation was made by a person who also possessed the specific intent to engage in prostitution. No agreement to engage in an act of prostitution shall constitute a violation of this subdivision unless some act, in addition to the agreement, is done within this state in furtherance of the commission of an act of prostitution by the person agreeing to engage in that act. As used in this subdivision, "prostitution" includes any lewd act between persons for money or other consideration.
Thanks for that answer Cali-tailchaser. What is confusing is this: Since a massage parlor is a legal business, and I am in there getting a massage, and the police bust in, how can I be accused of solicitation? The police are obviously raiding the place because they believe it is a brothel, but if I'm in there getting a massage (and am found to be only getting a massage) in a licenced massage parlor, how could I be in violation of anything?
It probably would help to know what California considers a lewd act. According to People v. Love, 111 Cal. App. 3d Supp. 1 (1980), a lewd act is "conduct where the genitals, buttocks or female breasts of either the prostitute or the customer come in contact with some part of the body of the other for the purpose of sexual arousal or gratification of the customer or of the prostitute." So prostitution is not just limited to sex. A massage involving rubbing her breasts on your body can be prostitution too.
Thank you again Cali-tailchaser, your answers are very informative. Here's what I get from the way the penal code is written: If the cops bust in, and the provider pulls up her top and covers you with a towel before anyone sees what's going on then the cops can't charge you with anything. In other words, there is nothing wrong with being in a massage parlor, as long as your are getting a massage only. If the cops think its a brothel and bust it, they can't accuse you of having sex if they don't catch you in the act. Of course, the cops will try and shake you down and threaten you, but if admit to nothing more than a massage then they have nothing on you. Does this sound correct?
Prostitution is the exchange of a lewd act for money or other consideration. So that means that 1) you have to be engaged in some type of sex act, and 2) you paid for it. There has to be actual touching. If she's not near you and cops don't see you doing anything, then unless there's some sort of surveillance system, would be tough to prove to say you were engaged in sex act. The even tougher part is saying that you paid for sex. Pay in cash. Leave no records. So the place charges exorbitant rates for massage and you paid for a massage and not sex. Overpaying for a massage is not a crime.
Before you get to feeling too comfortable, keep in mind that you can be arrested & charged (or not) literally at the whim of the officer. The fact that the charges may be later dropped, or you win in court may be small consolation...