One of the sources for obtaining illegal income from criminal activity is prostitution, and if only administrative liability is provided for persons directly involved in these services, then for the organizers of this business the criminal law provides for more severe punishment.
Our Law Office provides protection to individuals, incl. defense of several accused not only in criminal proceedings as a defense attorney for the accused. If the activities of the brothel affect your rights and legitimate interests, you are neighbors of the brothel, or you are being harassed by visitors or employees of this organization, then we are also able to protect the interests of third parties and victims in the case.
What is organizing prostitution (Article 241 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation)?
The commission of this crime means the following actions:
- Search for clients;
- Transporting girls to provide sexual services;
- Receiving money for illegal services provided;
- Search and maintenance of premises for the provision of illegal services;
- Bearing the costs of running a brothel
Organization of a brothel
It should be noted that the criminal legislation of the Russian Federation also prohibits the organization of a place for prostitution, regardless of whether sexual services were provided there or not. In particular, based on criminal legislation, the term organization of a den for prostitution can be distinguished.
In this case, the organizer commits criminal acts that can be divided into the following:
- actions aimed at organizing a brothel (search and selection of premises, etc.);
- actions aimed at carrying out the activities of a brothel (selection of prostitutes, purchase of food, alcoholic beverages).
Do not forget that in the case of organizing a brothel, liability begins not from the moment when this establishment begins to carry out its criminal activities, but from the moment when the brothel is ready to function. If this institution has already begun its work, then in this case the maintenance of the brothel should be examined.
In such circumstances, the owner of a brothel is a person in whose possession or disposal there is a premises or any place in which services of a sexual nature are provided for compensation.
The maintenance of the den includes the following activities:
- reception of prostitutes and clients
- settlements with clients
- brothel security
- maintaining order in it
- provision of food, alcoholic beverages, payment of utilities and other actions
In this case, it does not matter on what grounds the premises of the brothel are occupied legally or on the basis of seizure, while this premises does not have to be a residential premises; to bring liability, any premises suitable for this activity is sufficient, regardless of whether it is an office building, an apartment or even an attic or basement.
Composition and features of the crime
Organization of work is a socially dangerous act. It can be expressed in:
- Selection of premises for the provision of intimate services.
- Finding working women and clients for them.
- Maintenance of the brothel, with the purchase of things necessary for its operation, its security and payment of wages.
The consequences of such actions are dangerous for society in that such persons spread sexually transmitted diseases, and criminal influence on this type of activity leads to violent crimes - priestesses of love are often beaten, maimed and killed by clients or pimps.
How to close a brothel?
However, if you are bothered by a brothel in your neighborhood and you have repeatedly raised the question of how to close the brothel, but appeals to the police did not bring the necessary result, either due to corrupt interests or simple unwillingness to work...
Our Law Office will file a complaint against the unfounded refusal to initiate a criminal case, and will also make every effort to bring the organizers of this brothel to justice. She will help you prepare the necessary statements, appeal the actions or inactions of officials, including in court, and all this to protect your legal rights.
Features of the crime
The corpus delicti in the case of organizing prostitution includes the following characteristics:
- The subject of the crime is at least 16 years old.
- The objective side is actions to involve people in prostitution or continue to provide such services.
- The formal structure of the crime, that is, as soon as actions of persuasion or coercion into prostitution are committed, the crime is considered completed. It does not matter whether the victim subsequently engaged in prostitution.
- The subjective side is the presence of direct intent. The criminal realizes that he is breaking the law.
There are different types of liability for such a crime, but in all cases the punishment will be quite severe.
Criminal lawyer in Yekaterinburg
Our Law Office “Katsailidi and Partners” provides protection to all categories of citizens, regardless of legal status in a criminal case, be it a suspect, accused or victim.
This article reflects how to conduct a defense or, on the contrary, bring to criminal liability, however, it is better to entrust this activity to the experienced specialists of our Law Office in order to achieve the most effective result for the Principal, regardless of who this Principal is in terms of the status of the person in the case (suspects, accused, witness or victim).
Ask your question to a lawyer and we will begin to solve the problem: professionally, on favorable terms and on time. Call today!
Punishment and responsibility
When qualifying the organization of prostitution under the first part of Article 241 (that is, without aggravating circumstances), the court may impose as punishment:
- Fine up to 500 thousand rubles (or income for 3 years).
- Forced labor for up to 5 years.
- Imprisonment for the same period.
If it is proven that the crime was committed using official position, threats of violence, or involving minors in prostitution, then the punishment will be imposed under Part 2 of Article 241 of the Criminal Code. In this case, the offender will be punished with imprisonment for up to 6 years. Additionally, the court may prohibit him from holding certain positions for up to 10 years or limit his freedom to 2 years.
The third part of Article 241 of the Criminal Code determines the punishment for involving minors under 14 years of age in prostitution. Such a crime is punishable by imprisonment from 3 to 10 years. An additional sanction may be a ban on holding positions or conducting certain activities for 15 years, as well as restriction of freedom for 1-2 years.
Prostitution is a matter of concept
In modern Russia, rapid political, economic, social and ideological transformations are taking place, which entail a decline in moral foundations and value guidelines of society. Against this background, such a social phenomenon as prostitution is developing in our society.
The state, in turn, is finally struggling with this social phenomenon, and even criminal liability has been introduced for involvement in prostitution and organization of prostitution, which is provided for in Art. 240 and 241 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation.
These are crimes that encroach on public relations that arise in connection with ensuring the moral foundations of society that have developed in the sphere of sexual relationships.
Under the organization of prostitution, the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation means acts aimed at organizing prostitution by other persons, as well as maintaining dens for prostitution or systematically providing premises for prostitution.
Article 240 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation provides for involvement in prostitution or coercion to continue prostitution.
It should also be noted that administrative liability is also provided for prostitution - Art. 6.11 Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation.
In its decision, the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (Resolution of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation dated March 3, 2014 N 5-AD13-32) defined prostitution as the provision of intimate services for financial compensation.
Similar definitions of the concept of “prostitution” are expressed by some of our legal commentators:
— “prostitution is understood as the systematic entry of a man or woman into sexual contacts with persons of the same or opposite sex for a fee” (A.I. Chuchaev);
— “prostitution is understood as the systematic (more than two times) entry of female or male persons into sexual relations with clients for payment” (V.M. Lebedev);
— “prostitution is a systematic (three or more times) sexual intercourse in any form with another person for money or other reward (G.A. Esakova).
However, in order to accuse persons of committing the crimes or offenses in question, it is necessary to more clearly understand the subject and limits of evidence in this category of cases.
I will give the formulation of the concept of “prostitution”, which will allow you to more clearly understand what prostitution is and how to fight it.
The word “prostitution”, according to some sources, comes from the Latin verb “prostare” - to be sold publicly, to be prostituted (I. Bloch. History of prostitution).
Others argue that this word is derived from the Latin “prostitutio” - desecration, dishonor (Dictionary of Foreign Words, M., 1998).
In the work of I. Bloch, prostitution is defined as “a certain form of extramarital sexual relations, characterized by the fact that the individual who embarks on the path of prostitution is constantly, undoubtedly and publicly, given himself over, more or less indiscriminately, to an indefinitely large number of persons; rarely without remuneration, in most cases selling one’s body for copulation or other sexual acts with these persons, or generally provoking their sexual arousal and satisfying it.” Probably, the set of signs characterizing prostitution is reproduced in one form or another in modern interpretations of this term in legal science.
There is another interpretation of the phenomenon under consideration. A. Blashko pointed out that prostitution is “a form of extramarital sexual intercourse, in which the motive for intercourse for a certain part of women is not personal affection or sensual instinct, but exclusively earnings” (Blyashko A. Hygiene of prostitution and venereal diseases). Most likely, this definition is not applicable to perfect conditions, because As you know, not only women, but also men are engaged in prostitution.
A. Flexner points out that “a prostitute is any person who regularly or occasionally engages in sexual relations more or less indiscriminately for money or other material benefits” (A. Flexner. Prostitution in Europe).
DI. Lass points out in his works that “prostitution is understood as offering one’s body for sexual intercourse for the purpose of earning money” (D.I. Lass. On the way to the elimination of prostitution).
This concept is probably also not applicable to modern realities, because... there is no fact of direct entry into sexual relations.
S.I. The famine said that prostitution is only a consequence of poverty, which will disappear after a woman gets a chance to work (Famine S.I. 20th century and trends in sexual relations).
A.M. Kollontai o (materials from Wikipedia.org).
S. Ulitsky proposed that the term “prostitution” be understood as “repeated entry into sexual relations with various partners for a fee, not based on personal sympathies and attractions.” In this case, sexual relations mean “... sexual intercourse in a natural form, as well as anal and oral sex” (Ulitsky S. Responsibility for involvement in prostitution).
M.A. Seleznev reveals the concept of prostitution as “the satisfaction of the lust of one person by another for a fee through direct and direct contact of partners, regardless of their gender.” “For prostitution to exist, there must be direct contact between the body of the person being sold and the body of the person buying services of a sexual nature” (Seleznev M.A. Prostitution as an antisocial phenomenon)
In modern conditions of criminal investigation, investigators most likely do not even think about delving into the essence of the concept in question. From all the proposed definitions, the following features can be distinguished: receipt of remuneration, repetition and promiscuity of sexual relations, which are mandatory for the qualification of the crimes in question and which, as I understand it, must be proven in a criminal case. What if in criminal (administrative) cases, when defending clients, you prove the absence of these signs, or at least one of them? This is the article that came out, I think this material will be interesting and useful to you in the future.
Crime Investigation Methods
To initiate a criminal case of the category under consideration and conduct a preliminary investigation into it, an appropriate reason and basis are required, as well as the following signs:
- A written appeal to law enforcement agencies from a person who was forced to provide sexual services.
- The required amount of various evidence confirming the organization of prostitution and its systemic nature.
During the investigation of the case, all persons involved in this business are interrogated, material evidence is collected, and other measures are taken. The testimony of the prostitute herself, which forms the basis of the accusation, is of significant importance.
Subsequently, the investigated criminal case is sent by the prosecutor to the court for consideration on the merits.
Punishment
If the offense is classified under Part 1 of Article 240, the perpetrator will be punished:
A fine of up to 200 thousand rubles or seizure of income for 18 months.
- Restriction of freedom for up to 3 years.
- Forced labor for up to 3 years.
- Imprisonment for up to 3 years.
In the presence of aggravating circumstances, defined by part 2 of Article 240, namely the commission of criminal acts by conspiracy, the use of violence or the threat of its use, as well as the movement of victims across the border and their retention abroad, the actions of the perpetrators are punishable by imprisonment for up to 6 years with possible additional restriction of freedom for up to 2 years.
The sanctions of the third part of Article 240 are applied for involvement in prostitution committed by an organized group, or for the involvement of minors. For this, the law provides for imprisonment from 3 to 8 years. Additionally, they may be prohibited from holding a number of positions or conducting certain activities for 15 years, as well as limiting their freedom for 2 years.
Involving a wife in prostitution
In the case where the husband decided to organize the provision of intimate services using his wife, he will be qualified under Article 240 as involvement in prostitution. The presence of a marital relationship does not play a role in this situation. The husband will be punished according to the law.
Crime involving minors
As with many other crimes, if the victims are minors, the law treats this as an aggravating circumstance. Both under the article on involvement in prostitution, and under the article on organizing prostitution, the offender will receive a more severe punishment.
Under Article 240 the punishment will be imprisonment for up to 8 years, and under Article 241 – up to 10 years.
