In the neon-lit streets of Las Vegas, undercover solicitation stings are a common police tactic used to arrest people offering or agreeing to engage in prostitution. However, these operations raise a critical question: When does police trickery – which is lawful – cross the line into entrapment – which is unlawful?
What counts as entrapment?
Entrapment is a defense in criminal cases where you claim police induced or pressured you to commit a crime you otherwise would not have committed. The key question is whether you were already predisposed to commit the crime before the police intervened.1
Entrapment occurs when police pressure otherwise law-abiding people into committing a crime they are not predisposed to.
Entrapment in Solicitation Stings
Nevada law permits undercover officers in Las Vegas to pose as prostitutes (“hookers”) or clients (“johns”) to catch suspected prostitutes or clients. The officer can initiate conversations and even discuss terms with you, but they cannot use:
- threats,
- emotional manipulation, or
- or undue pressure
to compel you to solicit prostitution.
For example, a police officer posing as a client cannot threaten you with violence if you do not agree to their terms. Similarly, an undercover officer posing as a prostitute cannot feign a desperate situation (such as claiming to need money for a sick child) to emotionally manipulate you into offering them money for sex.2
You may have been entrapped if you would not have committed the crime but for the police’s pressure.
Proving Entrapment
A successful entrapment defense requires demonstrating that the police’s conduct was so persuasive that it overbore your will. In these cases, I carefully examine police reports, body camera footage, and witness statements to uncover evidence of police misconduct. Questions I ask include:
- Did the officer repeatedly contact you?
- Did they escalate their tactics after initial rejection?
- Did you feel scared, harassed, or coerced?
In Nevada, the burden to prove entrapment lies with the defense, and it requires more than just your word against a police officer’s. It is often a matter of context and interpretation of the interaction.
In my experience, these cases come down to the nuances of the interaction. For example, in an undercover sting, if you proactively approach the undercover officer and offer to engage in a sexual act for money, there is no entrapment. Your proactive behavior demonstrates your predisposition to commit the crime.
However, if an undercover officer initiates the contact and uses a barrage of persuasive, persistent tactics to get you to agree to the act, an entrapment defense becomes much more plausible.3
Las Vegas police routinely dress as hookers or johns for undercover solicitation stings.
Isn’t prostitution lawful in Las Vegas?
No. Offering or agreeing to trade sex for money, items, or favors is a crime throughout Clark County (which includes Las Vegas). In Nevada, prostitution is lawful only in licensed brothels in a few rural counties.
Sex workers convicted of solicitation of prostitution face misdemeanor charges, carrying up to $1,000 in fines and/or six months in jail.
The same penalties apply to customers convicted of a first-time solicitation offense, plus an additional $400 fine and $200 civil penalty. Successive convictions carry stiffer penalties.4
All forms of prostitution are a crime in Las Vegas.
Additional Reading
For more in-depth information about police misconduct, refer to the following scholarly articles:
- Rethinking Entrapment – American Criminal Law Review.
- The Law of Police Entrapment: Critical Evaluation and Policy Analysis – Criminal Law Forum.
- Clarifying Entrapment – International Commentary on Evidence.
- Entrapment and the Problem of Deterring Police Misconduct – Connecticut Law Review.
- Sting Operations, Undercover Agents, and Entrapment – Missouri Law Review.
Additional Resources
If you are struggling with sexual impulses, consider getting help:
- Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers (ATSA)— ATSA offers referrals, programs and resources for those suffering from sexual compulsions and sexual disorders.
- Sex Addicts Anonymous (SAA) – 12-step program to overcome sex addiction.
- Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – 24/7 confidential helpline offering referrals.
- Sex Addiction – Article and guidance by AddictionHelp.org.
Legal References:
- See, for example, Black’s Law Dictionary, “Entrapment.” See also Sorrells v. U.S. (1932) 287 U.S. 435.
- See, for example, Miller v. State (2005) 110 P.3d 53, 121 Nev. 92.
- See, for example, Foster v. State (2000) 13 P.3d 61, 116 Nev. 1088.
- NRS 201.354. See, for example, Belcher v. State (2022) 508 P.3d 410.
