TOPEKA POLICE DEPARTMENT	Number: LB 02-01
LEGAL BULLETIN
SUBJECT: NEW PROSTITUTION ORDINANCE NO. 17789
AMENDS:
STATUTE REFERENCES:
ISSUING AUTHORITY: John Knoll, City Attorney	DATE ISSUED: 21 Feb. 2002

After a hard-fought battle led by Community Officer Janene Falley, the Topeka City Council enacted the referenced ordinance (a copy of which is attached) on a 6-3 vote on February 5, 2002. The ordinance was published and took effect on February 13, 2002.

Some key features of the ordinance are:

• The acts of prostitution and sodomy are now illegal anywhere in the city. The prior ordinance only covered solicitation of prostitution or sodomy in the streets and other public places.
• The ordinance basically tracks state law (K.S.A. 21-3512) on the acts of prostitution it prohibits.
• The ordinance creates a "Prostitution Elimination Zone" (PEZ) defined as the city block in which a person is arrested and a four adjacent city block radius which shall be specifically defined by the judge at sentencing.
• If a person is convicted of prostitution, sodomy or the solicitation thereof, they are banned from the PEZ for various periods of time unless they live in the PEZ or have a valid emergency reason to be in the PEZ. Valid emergency reasons include the imminent death or serious bodily injury of a person living with the defendant or the imminent death or serious bodily injury of the defendant's spouse, mother, father, siblings or children.
• After a conviction for violating the ordinance, a person can be arrested for loitering in a PEZ for the purpose of being hired to engage in sexual activity. Please note this will require proof the defendant is manifesting a purpose (intent) to engage in prostitution or sodomy, which can be established by witnessing the defendant beckoning to passers by, displaying their wares, or being overheard soliciting sexual acts. The intent must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt. Mere presence in the PEZ after being banned from it will not be sufficient to prove a violation of the ordinance.
• Mandatory minimum sentences as follows:
• First conviction: A pre-sentence investigation shall be performed. Defendant shall be sentenced to 30 days in jail (which can be paroled to a 30-day mandatory treatment program to be paid for by defendant), and banned from the PEZ for one year.
• Second conviction: 90 days in jail and a 30-day mandatory treatment program, and banned from the PEZ for two years. No probation or parole from the sentence is possible.
• Third or subsequent conviction: 150 days in jail and a 30-day mandatory treatment program, and banned from the PEZ for five years. No probation or parole from the sentence is possible.

    Please advise if you have any questions about this ordinance or the enforcement thereof.