Tennessee § 39-13-515 - Promoting prostitution – Unacceptable defenses.

§ 39-13-515. Promoting prostitution – Unacceptable defenses.

A person commits an offense under this section: Who promotes prostitution; or Who promotes prostitution where the subject of the offense is a law enforcement officer or is a law enforcement officer eighteen (18) years of age or older posing as a minor. Except as provided in subsection (c), promoting prostitution is a Class E felony. Promoting prostitution is punishable as: Trafficking for a commercial sex act under § 39-13-309 if the person being promoted is less than eighteen (18) years of age; or A Class D felony if the person being promoted has an intellectual disability as defined in § 33-1-101. It is not a defense to a violation of this section that: The subject of the offense is a law enforcement officer; The victim of the offense is a minor and consented to the offense; or The solicitation was unsuccessful, the conduct solicited was not engaged in, or a law enforcement officer could not engage in the solicited offense. Acts 1989, ch. 591, § 1; 2011, ch. 377, § 4; 2013, ch. 485, § 1; 2014, ch. 646, § 1; 2018, ch. 1019, § 1; 2019, ch. 123, §§ 5, 6. Compiler's Notes. Acts 2011, ch. 377, § 5 provided that the act, which added subsection (b), shall apply to any acts committed on or after June 1, 2011. Acts 2018, ch. 1019, § 2 provided that the act, which amended this section, shall apply to offenses committed on and after July 1, 2018. Amendments. The 2018 amendment rewrote (c) which read: “Promoting prostitution of a minor is punishable as trafficking for a commercial sex act under § 39-13-309 .” The 2019 amendment added (a)(2) and (d)(3). Effective Dates. Acts 2018, ch. 1019, § 2. July 1, 2018. Acts 2019, ch. 123, § 7. July 1, 2019. Cross-References. Child sexual abuse, title 37, ch. 1, part 6. Definitions, § 39-13-512 . Penalty for Class D and E felonies, § 40-35-111 . Tennessee Sexual Offender and Violent Sexual Offender Registration, Verification and Tracking Act of 2004, Definitions, § 40-39-202 . Use of citations in lieu of arrest, § 40-7-118 . Law Reviews. Filling the Gap: Refining Sex Trafficking Legislation to Address the Problem of Pimping, 68 Vand. L. Rev. 961 (2015).