Solicitation for Immoral Purposes -  case results

 A Navy Lieutenant Commander (LCDR) helicopter pilot contacted our firm after being charged in Virginia Beach with Solicitation of Prostitution. The facts of the case were damning and the evidence of guilt overwhelming, and clearly, any conviction involving this type of offense would mean the guaranteed end of our client’s distinguished Navy career, as well as would likely preclude or hamper any future civilian piloting career. Our client, while at work, allegedly responded to a website ad which was offering sexual acts in exchange for money. The ad was a sting operation by Virginia Beach police, who kept notes as to the contents of all discussions in response to the ads. It was alleged that our client, both initially, as well as upon his arrival to the hotel room, asked for specific sexual acts in exchange for an agreed-upon amount of money. A hidden camera was located in the room to capture the initial conversation between our client and the undercover female officer, as well as the subsequent arrest, on video with audio. In addition to being charged with the class 1 misdemeanor of Solicitation, our client’s vehicle was seized by police pursuant to a statute which allows for seizure and forfeiture of a vehicle being used in furtherance of solicitation of prostitution. A prosecutor was assigned to the case, which is unusual for most misdemeanors in Virginia Beach. Prior to the trial date, we advised our client that he had to do invest a significant amount of time and effort into voluntary positive actions in order to have any shot at a good result for the case. We suggested, and our client enrolled in and/or completed, a several-week prostitution intervention course, therapy with a counselor, Sex Addicts Anonymous meetings, STD testing, and community service. Additionally, we requested and obtained our client’s personnel file from the Navy. From this, and along with documentation of the variety of other classes and voluntary actions completed by our client, we assembled an extremely impressive package for the judge to review prior to a decision being made in the case. Any attempt at negotiation with the prosecutor was short-lived, as there was not going to be any offer made which would be acceptable to our client. On the day of trial, we entered a No Contest plea to the charge, and did not argue or oppose the facts as presented by the arresting officer and Assistant Commonwealth Attorney. In attendance in support of our client were his wife, parents, as well as at least two members from his command, to include his Commanding Officer. Our request that the judge consider continuing the case for a short period of time and then dismissing the charge was met with fierce resistance by the prosecutor, whose argument was that we were simply asking the Court to treat our client differently than other charged with the same offense because of who he was in his rank and occupation. Our response was that that was not the case – his rank and occupation certainly played a major role in it, but beyond that was the huge number of impressive steps our client voluntarily accomplished prior to the trial – something that we were comfortable guessing that nobody else had ever done before that Court. The judge, over the prosecution’s stern objection, GRANTED our request and continued the case for two months, whereupon our client was found NOT GUILTY of the charge. After the criminal trial was over, we succeed in having the prosecutor DISMISS the forfeiture proceeding, thereby returning our client’s vehicle to him after several months in the police impound. Lastly, again over the prosecutor’s objections, several months later we successfully petitioned for a judge to grant our client’s request to have the charge EXPUNGED from his record. As a result of the outstanding outcome of this case, our client’s Navy career was saved – the Navy determined that there were no facts that warranted separation action to be instituted against our client.

An E7 in the US Army retained our firm after being charged with Solicitation of Prostitution in Newport News. A conviction, or even a deferral, on such an offense would have effectively ended his career. Prior to trial, we were able to secure an agreement for a GENERAL CONTINUANCE, after which point, the charge against our client will be DISMISSED and eligible to be EXPUNGED, thereby saving his career.

A local military member contacted us after being arrested in an undercover prostitution sting in Newport News. After responding to an online advertisement for sexual services, our client had met the purported prostitute at an area hotel, where, after confirming his requests, police officers entered the room and charged him with solicitation of prostitution, a Class 1 Misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in jail. A conviction of such an offense would have meant the end of our client’s military career. Because our client had no prior criminal history, we were able to secure an agreement with the prosecutor, wherein our client must remain on good behavior and satisfy several other requirements over the course of the six months after his court date, and upon completion of those conditions, the charge will be DISMISSED. In addition, due to his military status, a deferral/finding under advisement would have had the same detrimental effect on our client’s career as a conviction, so we were also able to secure a general continuance, wherein there was no presentation of evidence or plea entered. This outcome eliminates any potential negative effect on our client’s military career that is normally associated with a deferral.

Our client was charged by civilian authorities with indecent exposure related to allegations of solicitation for immoral purposes in a public rest room. After an extended trial, the judge agreed to defer findings on the allegations for twelve months, after which the charges were DISMISSED. We were later able to get the criminal arrest record EXPUNGED.

A senior Naval officer was charged by civilian authorities with charges related to solicitation for immoral purposes. The charges were DISMISSED upon our motion after cross-examination of the undercover police officer. After trial, we secured an EXPUNGEMENT of the arrest record.

A highly-respected school teacher was charged in Hampton Roads with solicitation of oral sodomy from an undercover police officer in a city park. A conviction of this charge carries severe consequences, not to mention the shame and loss of an outstanding career by our client. Additionally, the prosecutor was unwilling to offer a plea to anything acceptable to us or our client. Based upon a recent Virginia Court of Appeals decision striking down Virginia’s anti-sodomy law, we immediately filed an in-depth motion to dismiss the charge as contrary to case law in that, we argued, a person cannot be charged or convicted of soliciting a felony which is no longer a felony in Virginia. As a result of our motion, the charge against our client was DISMISSED.