Pimping and Pandering Laws in Nevada

Pimping and Pandering are considered separate crimes by definition and are charged as separate crimes in Nevada.

These are serious crimes in Nevada and charged as felonies and can be considered sex offenders crimes with life-altering consequences.

We may think of a pimp or pandering defendant in a certain way but in today’s world, a pimp can be anywhere, not just on the streets.

Pimps and panderers operate all over Las Vegas including hotel lobbies, and the center bar at the casino, and now pimps and panderers offer services online through ads on pages like backpage.

It is a constant issue for law enforcement to arrest and punish those who victimize people into prostitution.

What is Pandering?

NRS.201.300(1) Defines Pandering as:

A person who without physical force or the immediate threat of physical force, induces an adult to unlawfully become a prostitute or to continue to engage prostitution, or to enter any place (house of prostitution) within this state in which prostitution is practiced, encouraged, or allowed for the propose of sexual conduct or prostitution is guilty of pandering.

What is Pimping?

NRS.201.320 Defines Pimping as:

A person who knowingly accepts, receives, levies, or appropriate any money or valuable thing, without consideration, from the proceeds of any prostitute, is guilty of living from the earnings of a prostitute. 

So basically pandering is enticing an adult to prostitute themselves even if no money changes hands. Pimping is taking money or other things of value from prostitution. In Nevada, they are both felonies and punished more harshly than prostitution itself.

Prostitution is considered a misdemeanor.

The classic example of a pimp is a man who has a “Stable” (how pimps refer to the group of women who work for them). This group of sex workers usually gives the pimp all the money they make from customers and the pimp provides for the prostitutes or in some cases gives the sex workers a small sum of money. In many cases, pimps will result in threats and violence to control the woman working for them.

Even if the sex workers fully consent are of legal age, primping is still a crime.

The only people who can legally accept proceeds from prostitution are licensed brothel owners and staff that legally abide by the laws both state and local.

There are only a select few legal and licensed brothels with legal prostitutes in Nevada all located in smaller more rural areas.

All prostitution, pimping and pandering are illegal in Clark County (Las Vegas) , Washoe County ( Reno), Carson City and several other Nevada areas.

Outside of licensed brothels, all other acts of prostitution including pimping and pandering are illegal including online activities such as Backpage.

What Are the Penalties for Pimping?

Pimping is a felony that carries a term in prison and fines.

Since pimps are known to use force or violence to gain things of value including money from prostitutes, then the severity of the punishment, if convicted, is based on whether or not the defendant used force or threats to profit from prostitution. For example :

• Without violence or immediate threats of violence
  • Category D felony
    • 1-4 years in state prison,
    • up to a $5000 fine and
    • victim restitution all at the judge’s discretion
• With Violence or immediate threat of violence
  • Category C felony
    • 1-5 years in prison
    • up to a $10,000 fine and
    • victim restitution all at the judge’s discretion.

As you can see the defendant will be sentenced much more harshly if the court finds that they used violence or force in any way.

What Are the Penalties for Pandering?

Pandering is a different crime altogether in Nevada but it is still considered a felony.

The punishment includes:

• 1-5 years in state prison; and
• Up to a $10,000 fine; and
• Asset forfeiture of any property or money obtained through prostitution.

Separately, pimps or panderers that attempt to use a person under the age of 18 for prostitution are guilty of sex trafficking and face much harsher penalties in Nevada.

Pandering or other charges associated with illegal prostitution, like pimping, does not include the people who buy prostitution. These are called “John’s” and they only face misdemeanor or gross misdemeanor charges for solicitation of prostitution.

In some cases, the defendant may be charged with both pimping and pandering depending on the circumstances.

How Can a Defense Attorney Help?

If you have been charged with pimping or pandering in Nevada, you’ll need a good defense team to help fight the charges, since the punishments are severe and can have a permanent effect on the rest of your life even after you have served your sentence if convicted.

Based on the evidence, your defense team may use the following to defend your case.

Falsely Accused

People are accused of crimes all the time that they didn’t commit. Unfortunately most of the time these accusations come out of revenge and anger.

In some cases, it may be a case of mistaken identity or a misunderstanding. If your defense team can prove that the accuser was motivated by revenge or the witness picked out the wrong person the charges should be dismissed.

Only a knowledgeable defense team knows what to look for when investigating a criminal defense case.

The Money Did Not Come From Prostitution

In the case of pimping, where money is given to the pimp, if the defense team can prove that any money the person charged with pimping received was not from prostitution but from another legal avenue then the charges should be dismissed.

In the case of pandering charges, the defendant did not induce the sex worker into prostitution.

Perhaps the law firm finds out from investigating that the prostitute asks to work for them. In this case, no pandering occurred.

The Police Committed an Unlawful Search

Law enforcement is sometimes overzealous in its effort to arrest a suspect and solve a crime. When this happens the police are known to enter and search a space without a proper search warrant.

If this happened to you as a defendant, your attorney can ask the court to suppress any evidence that the police collected during that search because they are violating the Fourth Amendment (the right that prohibits unreasonable search and seizure).

If a judge suppresses the evidence, then the D.A. might not have enough evidence to go forward with pimping or pandering charges.

It is never a defense that the sex worker willingly gave his or her earnings to the defendant.

Typical evidence in these cases of pimping and pandering can include sting operations by police that include surveillance video, recordings from undercover police, witness or victim statements, cash or other property that the defendant has that was in their possession.

Having this evidence suppressed can mean the difference between years in prison or a possible dismissal of the case.

In some cases, if you are convicted of pimping and pandering you may have to register a sex offender for a period of time if not the rest of your life.

A good defense team may be able to get the charges reduced or dismissed based on the investigation we do as part of your defense. Call The Defenders today for a case review or if you need questions about your defense answered.

How Can The Defenders Help?

The Defenders employ a group of legal experts that specialize in all types of sex crimes in Nevada. If you have been charged with pimping or pandering in Nevada you’ll need to seek out legal counsel as soon as possible.

These crimes carry life-changing consequences like lengthy prison sentences and even being placed on the sex offenders registry. If you are convicted of these crimes it could have a permanent effect on the rest of your life including finding employment, the ability to rent or buy a home and even being able to stay in an area once people find out you’re a registered sex offender.

In some cases, we can negotiate a plea bargain between the D.A. and our client to have the charges reduced to lesser charges that are felonies but misdemeanors with less sentences.

So getting the charges reduced or dismissed with the help of an experienced legal team is the only option.

Call The Defenders today if you have been charged with pimping or pandering crimes in Nevada.

Frequently Asked Questions