NC to implement The Anti-John Law: State makes buying sex a felony
North Carolina is the second state in the nation to make purchasing sex a felony. The new law takes effect December 1, 2024, and applies to offenses committed on or after that date.
In June, Governor Roy Cooper signed House Bill 971, one provision of which rewrote Section 4. (a) of General Statute 14-205.1(a) to state “any person who solicits another for the purpose of prostitution is guilty of a Class I felony for a first offense and a Class H felony for a second or subsequent offense.”
A Class I is the least serious felony classification, punishable by anywhere from four months to two years in prison. A Class H felony can result in a sentence of up to 39 months in prison. In the past, many first offenses under either classification have received house arrest or probation in lieu of prison time. Prior to this revision, the maximum penalty for purchasing sex from a consenting adult was a misdemeanor.
While the verb “solicit” can mean attempting to either sell or purchase something, here it only applies to the purchaser (colloquially referred to as a “John”), and not to the person either selling or performing the sexual act. In North Carolina, performing sex work is still a Class 1 misdemeanor, while a first offense for “promoting” or “advancing” prostitution (acting as a pimp or operating a brothel) is a Class F felony.
Assistant Chief Chris Schultheis of the Greensboro Police Department stated this about the new law:
“The passage of House Bill 971, specifically the amendment to G.S. 14-205.1(a), acknowledges the potential victimization of those engaging in prostitution and places the legal burden on the person who is soliciting the act, with the goal of preventing further victimization. Additionally, by increasing the penalty for the solicitation from a misdemeanor to a felony, it can act as a greater deterrent and ultimately reduce victimization. As the law has yet to take effect, it may take some time to see if this legislation has the desired effects. But from a victim assistance standpoint, it is a definite step in the right direction.”
The primary sponsors of HB 971 were Representative Kevin Crutchfield (R), whose 83rd district includes Rowan and Cabarrus counties, and Senator Buck Newton (R), whose District 11 includes Greene, Wayne, and Wilson counties.
The new felonies make no distinction between those who purchase sex from a person coerced into prostitution or from one voluntarily engaging in sex work, but the revised statute also contains multiple sections aimed at human trafficking. These provisions include making unlawful disclosure of victim confidentiality a Class C misdemeanor and requiring all hotel and motel employees, including third-party contractors and maintenance staff, to take biannual courses in recognizing the signs of human trafficking.
The revised statute also requires the disclosure of certain criminal history in child custody pleadings, prohibits viewing pornography on government networks and devices; and allows college campus police to access the Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data System.
Schultheis also stressed the importance of the sections of the statute dealing with the hotel industry.
“Over the past several years, we have seen the shift in prostitution from what was once taking place on street corners to what is usually now transpiring through digital communications leading to a covert meeting at an arranged location. Oftentimes, these locations are lodging establishments. The educational and training component of this bill provides for a level of awareness amongst the staff of these establishments to look for signs of potential human trafficking and establish reporting procedures. The hope is that the staff can help direct resources and law enforcement to these covert locations to locate and assist victims of human trafficking.”
One organization that pushed for this law is the N.C. Demand Reduction Task Force, which worked with Crutchfield and the N.C. Conference of District Attorneys on revising the statutes. Pam Strickland, founder of N.C. Stop Human Trafficking, a nonprofit operating out of GCF Church in Greenville, N.C., was a member of the legislative team.
“We’re so excited about this legislation,” said Strickland. “The Demand Reduction Task Force was created to reduce demand for both sex trafficking and labor trafficking. One of our strategies for doing that is to create consequences for people who purchase sex. One of those consequences is being arrested.”
https://www.yesweekly.com/news/the-anti-john-law-state-makes-buying-sex-a-felony/article_e2d2bc04-6ac4-11ef-b0c6-bf47dbd644ae.html
NC isn't fucking around. Anon thinks many more states will follow what NC and Texas are doing to shut down sex trafficking, and that's a good thing.