In re Jessica A.
Filed 8/24/07 In re Jessica A. CA4/1
NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN OFFICIAL REPORTS
California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.
COURT OF APPEAL, FOURTH APPELLATE DISTRICT
DIVISION ONE
STATE OF CALIFORNIA
In re JESSICA A., a Person Coming Under the Juvenile Court Law. | |
THE PEOPLE, Plaintiff and Respondent, v. JESSICA A., Defendant and Appellant. | D050302 (Super. Ct. No. J213792) |
APPEAL from a judgment of the Superior Court of San Diego County, Theodore M. Weathers, Judge. Affirmed.
The Orange County juvenile court entered a true finding that Jessica A. solicited an act of prostitution, a misdemeanor (Pen. Code, 647, subd. (b); statutory references are to the Penal Code). The case was transferred to San Diego County, where Jessica lived. The San Diego County juvenile court adjudged her a ward, placed her in the custody of the probation officer and committed her to the Short Term Offender Program for 90 days, after which she was authorized to live with her grandmother. Jessica appeals, contending the true finding is unsupported by substantial evidence that she committed an act in furtherance of an agreement to engage in prostitution. We affirm.
BACKGROUND
On November 4, 2006, Jessica's grandfather told Costa Mesa Police officer Brent McKinley that Jessica, a runaway, was working as a prostitute through the Internet Web site at
Exhibit one gave the advertiser's measurements and read, "I'm looking for some company . . . I'm a nice girl that likes to have a good time[.]" It used the word "c-u-m-m" and the phrases "100 % satisfaction" and "get this tight p-u-s-s-y."
Exhibit two read, " . . . I'm looking for a good time . . . . [] . . . [] I like to have my cust[o]mers sati[]sfied with every chance I get[.] [] . . . [] If you . . . want to have a good time [] . . . get your one way to paradise[.] [] Now taking appoi[n]tments." Photographs showed Jessica provocatively posed in black lingerie.
Exhibit three read, " . . . I'm looking for some company . . . I'm a . . . girl that likes to have a good time . . . and that likes to have her cust[o]mers satisfied with every chance I get. . . ." It gave the advertiser's body measurements and continued, "My services are 100%% [sic] satisfaction."
Around 9:30 p.m. on November 4, 2006, McKinley called the telephone number listed in the advertisements. A female answered and said her name was "Rose." McKinley said he wanted to make an appointment, a term commonly used when making telephone arrangements to meet a prostitute. "Rose" asked how long he wanted and quoted a price of $175 for one-half hour or $250 for one hour. McKinley said he wanted one-half hour. "Rose" told him to drive to the 55 Freeway and Dyer in Orange County. McKinley did so, arriving there approximately 45 minutes after the telephone conversation. He called the same telephone number several times and reached Jessica after 15 or 20 minutes. She apologized and said she was busy with a date, a term commonly used by prostitutes to refer to a customer. She said she was staying at the Embassy Suites and told McKinley to drive to that parking lot and call her again. McKinley did so, but she did not answer the telephone. He checked the hotel registry, but Jessica's name was not listed. He showed Jessica's picture to hotel security personnel, but they were unable to identify her. Around 1 a.m., McKinley suspended his efforts to contact Jessica.
On November 5, 2006, McKinley called Jessica and asked why she stood him up. She said she did not stand him up but was busy with dates. She said she was working in Costa Mesa, Newport and Del Mar. When McKinley asked to meet her, she told him to drive to the area and call her again.
McKinley went to the area and telephoned. Jessica answered. She said she was hungry and might be going out, and told him to go to the Comfort Inn parking lot. McKinley went there and called again. Jessica answered, said she had gone to get something to eat, and told him to wait. A limousine then entered the parking lot and Jessica alighted, but McKinley lost sight of her around the north side of the hotel.
McKinley called Jessica multiple times over a couple of hours but did not reach her. He did not find her name in the hotel registry, but noted that rooms 222 and 223, on the north side of the hotel, were rented to the same person and that person had a counterfeit Texas driver's license. McKinley knew that prostitutes commonly rented two hotel rooms, one for living and one for business, and that a juvenile would use counterfeit identification to check into a hotel.
McKinley watched rooms 222 and 223 and telephoned Jessica. She did not answer, but lights were on in room 223 and McKinley heard a female voice. He knocked on the door repeatedly, but there was no response. He identified himself and used a key to open the door. A security latch prevented him from opening the door completely, but he saw Jessica and called her name, and she opened the door. There was a bag on the floor with two wrapped condoms on top. In room 222, there were at least three torn condom wrappers in the trash can. Jessica told McKinley she placed the craigslist advertisements and had been working as a prostitute for three months.
DISCUSSION
Jessica contends there was insufficient evidence to show she committed an act in furtherance of an agreement to engage in prostitution. She asserts that answering the telephone and giving McKinley directions to her hotel did not constitute such an act. She notes she never disclosed her room number or told him when or where to meet her, she made excuses for not following through and eventually stopped answering his calls, and they did not meet until he stopped pretending to be a customer and obtained a key to her room.
Section 647, subdivision (b) prohibits the solicitation of another person to engage in an act of prostitution or an agreement to engage in an 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. . . ." (Ibid.)
Section 647, subdivision (b) previously proscribed solicitation of an act of prostitution and did not mention an agreement to engage in an act of prostitution. A 1986 amendment expanded section 647, subdivision (b) "to permit conviction for an agreement to engage in an act of prostitution." (Kim v. Superior Court (2006) 136 Cal.App.4th 937, 941.) "According to the [amendment's] proponent, 'most prostitutes kn[e]w that if they wait[ed] until a customer mention[ed] money or sex, and then simply approve[d] the conditions, they [could not] be found guilty of soliciting prostitution. Consequently, street-wise prostitutes rarely "solicit[ed]" prostitution, and undercover officers posing as customers often [were] unable to make arrests for prostitution.' [Citation.] The legislation was, therefore, 'intended to give police another enforcement tool' on 'prostitution laws that [were] difficult to enforce.' [Citation.]" (Id. at p. 942.) The proposed legislation "initially prohibited only the agreement to engage in an act of prostitution. [Citation.] To minimize false arrests, entrapment and use of the entrapment defense, however, the bill was amended prior to passage to include the language requiring an act in furtherance of the commission of an act of prostitution by the person agreeing to engage in that act. [Citation.]" (Ibid.)
Here, there was no allegation and no true finding that Jessica agreed to engage in an act of prostitution. Rather, the petition alleged and the juvenile court found that she solicited an act of prostitution. It is clear from the legislative history of section 647, subdivision (b), as set forth in Kim v. Superior Court, supra, 136 Cal.App.4th at pages 941-942, that solicitation of an act of prostitution does not require an agreement or an act in furtherance of an agreement. Nor does solicitation require the receipt or the offer of money, an agreement as to price or a specification of the services to be provided. (In re Elizabeth G. (1975) 53 Cal.App.3d 725, 727, 729-730 [there was substantial evidence to support a true finding of solicitation where there was a report that the minor was working as a prostitute and taking appointments by telephone; she answered a telephone call placed to the number reported; during a ride to a motel with a police officer she said they would discuss price when they reached the room; and she later admitted past acts of
prostitution and an intent to engage in prostitution that night]; People v. Superior Court (Hartway) (1977) 19 Cal.3d 338, 347 ["solicitations [are not] limited to offers specifying both price and services"].) Solicitation does, however, require a specific intent to engage
in prostitution. (People v. Gibson (2001) 90 Cal.App.4th 371, 386; People v. Norris (1978) 88 Cal.App.3d Supp. 32, 37-38; People v. Love (1980) 111 Cal.App.3d Supp. 1, 13-15.)
Reviewing the record in the light most favorable to the judgment, we conclude substantial evidence supports the true finding. (In re Cheri T. (1999) 70 Cal.App.4th 1400, 1404.) Jessica's advertisements on the craigslist Web site were clearly for prostitution. She had multiple conversations with McKinley, asked him how much time he wanted and quoted prices. She gave him directions to hotel parking lots and explained her failures to answer the telephone with explanations that she was busy with dates, a term commonly used by prostitutes to refer to customers. She was in one of two motel rooms that were rented to the same person, a common practice among prostitutes and there were condoms in both rooms. Finally, Jessica told McKinley she placed the craigslist advertisements and had been working as a prostitute for the last three months.
DISPOSITION
The judgment is affirmed.
McINTYRE, J.
WE CONCUR:
HALLER, Acting P. J.
O'ROURKE, J.
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