RI lawmakers adopt indoor prostitution ban

PROVIDENCE -- Rhode Island would close a legal loophole allowing prostitutes to ply their trade indoors under legislation that state lawmakers approved Thursday and is headed to Gov. Don Carcieri, who is expected to sign it.

The legislation would make prostitution a misdemeanor offense regardless of where it occurs. Prostitutes would face a maximum six-month prison sentence for a first offense, while prostitutes convicted of a subsequent offense and customers would face up to a year.

State lawmakers accidentally legalized indoor prostitution in 1980. Trying to crack down on rampant outdoor solicitations in a Providence neighborhood, they passed a law that targeted prostitutes and their customers operating in public. But the statute was silent on those who operate inside, making Rhode Island the only place outside parts of Nevada where the practice is legal.

State Sen. Harold Metts, D-Providence, urged lawmakers to adopt the ban even though several of his colleagues argued it would unfairly penalize destitute women. He recalled how his mother was harassed years ago by men trying to buy sex as she returned home from her factory job. At the time, he was a teenager in a baseball league.

"I'd have to come out with my bat," he said. "As much compassion as I have for people that are trying to survive, it's the impact that happens to the rest of us."

Opponents have warned criminalizing indoor prostitution will make the lives of drug-addicted or impoverished women harder, and possibly make victims of human trafficking more reluctant to seek medical help or legal assistance for fear of being reported.

"It's difficult to support a law that lumps victims in essentially the same category as offenders," said Laura Pisaturo, director of advocacy and legal services for Day One, which helps victims of sexual abuse and violence. Her organization would support a law that jailed customers but not prostitutes.

More than two dozen suspected brothels operate in Rhode Island, including many thinly disguised as Asian massage parlors advertising services such as table showers or body rubs. Courts have dismissed charges against prostitutes arrested by police in brothels raids even when they admit offering sex-for-cash because it isn't illegal.

Michael Kiselica, an attorney who has represented brothel owners and their landlords, said his clients may sue the state if the bill becomes law. He said there will be unintended economic consequences.

"What happens when you suddenly create a large number of unemployed people who the day before were gainfully and lawfully employed?" he said. "What consideration did the state give to those people?"

The presence of brothels has become an eyesore for some in the state.

Hema Bulmer and her husband, Eric, decided in August to relocate their science education store for children after clashing with a suspected brothel that opened beside them in a strip mall in Middletown, a suburb on Aquidneck Island.

Bulmer said her husband found hypodermic needles outside the alleged brothel, which seemed to operate late at night and only attracted men. They found online reviews describing the sexual services offered there.

Last November, an Asian woman who spoke only broken English walked into the couple's store and used hand gestures to explain what occurred next door, Bulmer said. The woman asked the couple to call police for help but left before an officer arrived.

"We had no clue there's no law," said Bulmer, who wants an anti-prostitution law passed. "We thought the police would be able to help."