I was arrested for prostitution about a month ago in New Orleans. I can not stop thinking about the consequences of having this on my record. I was supposed to go to school for nursing next year but now I’m not even sure if it is worth it. Does anyone know if you can still be a nurse with a prostitution charge on your record in Louisiana? Can you join the Peace Corps? And lets say I can become a nurse, and I get hired somewhere. Will EVERYONE there know that I was a prostitute? Like will the people who hire me gossip about it? I know these are really neurotic questions but I can not sleep because I can’t stop thinking about all of this. How do people recover and move forward with their lives with a record?

And for all the girls out there in New Orleans, please be super careful! The cops are really cracking down there. I went to jail for a week because of it. My bail was 15,000 and this is my first time getting arrested. Half the women in prison that week were there on prostitution charges. The prison was so full people were sleeping on the floor. Since loosing money in the flood, this is how the city makes money. I was an escort for only THREE weeks, and I screened! Please be careful out there!  

What was the disposition of you arrest?  Have you been to court yet and if so what happened?  If you pled guilty to a lesser charge what was that charge?  All of these things are important.  Once you determine what the final disposition of you case is, e.g. plead guilty to disorderly conduct etc., then you can check to see what effect the arrest will have on your career.

Contact the agency that licenses nurses in your state and ask if the charge that appears on your record will disqualify you for being a licensed nurse.  The chances are good that the charge you pled guilty to is a minor misdemeanor and won't disqualify you for being licensed.  

Another place you should check is the local police records department to ascertain how far the record of your conviction will go.  It might be a situation wherein the record goes no further than the local court and police department.  In that case the information might not be available to anyone other than another law enforcement agency.  

Don't feel bad about LE defeating your screening because the fact is LE can defeat any screening process.  There are providers who insist they can screen LE but they are only fooling themselves. Remember LE does this for a living and they are very good at it. Screening is a step in the right direction to help protect you from dangerous predators but it is only a step and certainly not a guarantee of safety.

Be careful and I hope everything works out for you.

if the ajudication is not complete, you should see if you can get the charge reduced.  You really should get council...  just to see discovery turns up.  A lot depends on how hard the DA wants to push.  Too much depends on the jurisdiction & statutes.
A plea deal to Reduced charges...  might be in your best interest.  
Best wishes,
skb

so sorry,
I do not know the your specific curcumstances,
But do not skimp on an attorney, get a good one
you need to do everything possible to get it dropped or lessened

IF the worst happens & you get the solicitation charge or any charge
#1fulfill the legal obligation ASAP)
#2 get it expunged ASAP
#3 no more trouble ever!!!!

Balboa is correct, that if it was a 1 time charge it most likely will not keep you from being a nurse. Yet, It is better to have a lesser charge like tresspassing or disturbing the peace, there is an awful stigma w/ Sol charge
and It can cause humilation & special reviews by licensing boards to accept your application..Just because of it being "that" charge.

I wish you the best, but please take this seriously.

strip clubs.
also if you have that on your record you can be charged again if you are in an area considered a prostitution area.
So sorry to hear this happened to you.

It does not matter what you were convicted of only what you were arrested for. That is why employers and insurance companies and the such ask you have you EVER been arrested or convicted of a felony or whatever? Read your wording carefully. You have a PM on expunging and sealing. Take care.

It is illegal to ask about arrests,
however, with the monster data bases on the NET,
We all have serious privacy issues,  Many counties are jumping on the band-wagon & selling information  to whomever will pay. Therefore a mere arrest ,regardless of the outcome, can cause personal damage .

Taya wants to earn a professional license, therefore, even if a charge is expunged in some states, she would be required to disclose even an expunged conviction, each states has different .
definitions.
Regardless of the outcome, even a 1 count misdm can cause embarrassment & hassle, but in the end I think as long as there is nothing else, & she lives an examplemery life, Licensing agencies tend to overlook & forgive...but very very important to try to get the best legal result right now. You do not want this charge on your record. We really need good nurses & Taya sounds like she is a caring person & I hope she will not let this bad day ruin her dream of career as  a nurse

... got in trouble for something else (not soliciting for sex) and from what my lawyer told me that it'll be hard to get a nursing license when you have a criminal record.  What you need to do is seek for legal advice from an attorney and try to get it expunge.  Most likely it's possible if this is your first offense.  I'm from Cali but the link might be useful for you...

clearly your first choice is to get this dropped
whether it is reduced or worst case a  Sol charge, you will 100% better your chances & need an expungment or seal.

Makes sure you get he best relief you qualify.  California's definition is different than the most states. I honestly think you are lucky & have a better chance of a good result in NO, than CAl.

please invest in a great attorney & to have your Plan B(exp) ready to go, As soon as you qualify.
careful of those online record  clearing companies many are scams.
This needs proper attention ,  but there is no reason for it to hold you back on your dream ..best of luck

A conviction would be a serious problem.  A mere arrest probably wouldn't be.  Arrest records are not supposed to be available to the public, at least in most states.  Louisiana has lots of weird laws, though, so maybe this sort of thing works differently there.

Cathyb says in one of her answers that it is illegal to ask about arrests on job applications or licensing applications.  I don't know if that's true.  It may be true in some states but not in others.

Some of the comments have also mentioned expungement.  The rules about expungement vary quite a bit from one state to another.  I have no idea what they are in Louisiana.  Here in California, an applicant for a nursing license (or any other professional license) would have to reveal an expunged conviction if the application asks for such info - which they all do.

Your best bet is to do everything you can to beat the charge outright or at least to get it reduced to something less serious.

..The reason it is illegal to ask about an "arrest" is because many people are arrested & never prosicuted, factulal innocense, not guilty etc... asking about an arrest is a violation of our right of presumed innocent
This would create unfair prejuduce....as we know, we are now in a different world with Monstor Data bases. So the reality many arrests are a click away.  Many courts sell arrest records within days of an arrest.

I do know of professional people that have all kinds of both felony & midsm convictions, but it creats a severe hardship & needless humilation, They had to go through a special process & their applications approved by boards...Gee who wants to deal with that and it is always a gamble.

I agree w/ Sidone #1 fight this hard 2nd choice get it reduced and finally  "any" conviction needs to be expunged or sealed
She cannnot put herself at anymore risk, another arrest could blow it next time

Hi Xarliah,

as a medical professional myself, let me tell you...be very careful!!!  No matter what you do, some states do NOT expunge certain records.  For instance, in Georgia a DUI will stay on your record forever while some states will only look into your background for X amount of years.  A sexually related conviction is basically a death warrent in healthcare.  Do yourself a favor and get you face blurred out on your ads...you would hate to go to an interview and have the HR dept hold up your picture and say...'what do you have to say about this?'
It may decrease your appts a little but better safe than sorry.

Thank you everyone for the thoughtful words and advice. My court date is May 24th and my lawyer is trying to get them to drop the charges. I will keep everyone posted on what happens.

The Louisiana State Board of Nursing makes you answer this to get your license:

b. Have you ever been arrested, charged with, convicted of, pled guilty or no contest to, or adjudged a
juvenile delinquent, for any criminal offense in any state? (Even though an arrest, conviction or plea
has been pardoned, expunged, dismissed, or your civil rights have been restored, you must answer
“yes”. You may answer “no” if the juvenile offense has been expunged.)

And they do a level 1 background check. So I guess my only option is to wait and see what happens.

As for moving, leaving New Orleans would break my heart. I moved here after Katrina to work with an organization to rebuild parts of the city that can’t afford to rebuild themselves. There are so many problems here with poverty and corruption and I feel like I have so much more work to do. Moving here and getting to really make a difference gave me more perspective than I can articulate. Unfortunately though my $500 a month stipend wasn’t going to pay for nursing school so that’s why I started escorting. And I loved it! In a weird way I felt like I was helping people by doing that to. It is so ironic for me to get arrested because I feel like I have done so much for this city. And in my heart I really don’t feel like I was doing anything wrong. It is just very hard for me to see why this happened to me, and why I am being punished for this. I definitely feel for anyone else out there who is going through this too.  

I started to pay for the lawyer! Are you saying I can be arrested just for working here even if I am not doing extras?

would be to lie about the arrest and get caught at it.  As a former President found out the hard way, the cover-up is much more serious a crime than the original act.  Actually, that was two former Presidents, come to think of it!
If you can get the charges dropped or whatever, an answer of 'Yes I was arrested but I was cleared of wrongdoing' SHOULD not be prejudicial against you.  Never forget that anyone can be arrested for nearly anything, that doesn't mean they did anything wrong.  OK, lets assume you have to plead guilty to something (Disorderly Conduct) to make this go away.  Well, you can still explain that away as 'Yes, there was a misunderstanding. I was arrested, but the charges were not sustained and I just pled guilty of Disorderly Conduct to make the whole thing go away.'  
Just don't lie.  Read the question asked very carefully and answer it.  
MVR

You will probably have to invest money now for good representation...  but it's much better to invest now & fight the charges, get them reduced or whatever to minimize the future consequences.  
Sometimes, just getting council & making the DA dot all the I's & cross all the T's is enough to get a deal for a reduced charge that is acceptable.  The DA wants "a conviction" without a lot of time & trouble, so unless there's a major screw up, don't expect to walk free.  But by the same token, the DA's office would rather take a plea to a lesser charge than invest a lot of resources to convict on the original charge.  (It's probably not in your best interest to go the full distance to trial & risk a conviction on the original charge, if you can plead to a lesser charge & get a slap on the wrist.)  
Wishing you all the best,
skb

I'm sure you were smaart enough not to talk about sexual services for money.

sorry to hear what happend to you and i hope everything goes well.
i dont think you where doing anything wrong
this country needs to change some of its laws and allow for adults to do what ever they want with who ever they want as long as no one gets hurt

Though it may be illegal to ask it is not illegal for the company to do a background check. And being in healthcare they will. Solicitation is considered a sex offense and if convicted you are required to register as a sex offender.

Heck, I know somone who was arrested for domestic violence. They plead it down to disorderly conduct. They still couldn't find a job. When it comes down to it if Applicant A has any criminal record and Applicant B doesn't. Applicant B will more likely than not get the job.