Prostitution, Pimping, and Pandering Laws in Massachusetts

Massachusetts' prostitution laws cover a wide range of conduct, prohibiting conduct by those acting as prostitutes, patrons, pimps, panderers, and traffickers. Learn how Massachusetts defines and penalizes prostitution-related offenses.

Is Prostitution Legal in Massachusetts?

No. Prostitution and related offenses are not legal in Massachusetts. Like many states, Massachusetts prohibits and penalizes prostitution offenses committed by those who:

• work as a prostitute
• engage the services of a prostitute
• procure a prostitute for a customer or business
• profit off of another's prostitution earnings, or
• engage in sex trafficking.

The state reserves the harshest penalties for crimes involving children and sex trafficking.

What Are Massachusetts' Penalties for Prostitution Offenses?

Massachusetts has separate penalties for acts committed by prostitutes and those committed by customers (or patrons).

Penalties for Prostitution

Anyone who engages in sexual conduct for a fee commits a misdemeanor offense. It's also a crime to offer or agree to prostitution services, even if sexual conduct doesn't occur. The penalty for prostitution is up to a year of jail time and a $500 fine.

Limited protection for child prostitutes. Unlike many other states, Massachusetts doesn't prohibit prosecutors or police from arresting or charging children working as prostitutes. The state does, however, consider the child to be sexually exploited and in need of protection and services. This finding allows the court to suspend delinquency proceedings on the condition that the child comply with child protection officials.

Affirmative defense; trafficking victims. Trafficking victims can raise their victim status as a defense to prostitution charges or to vacate any prior conviction or delinquency adjudication for prostitution. A child younger than 18 is presumed to be a trafficking victim. (See more on sex trafficking crimes below.)

(Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 119, § 39L; ch. 272, §§ 53A, 59 (2024).)

Penalties for Customers or Patrons

A customer who pays, agrees to pay, or offers to pay another person for prostitution services can face up to 2 ½ years behind bars and a fine of $1,000 to $5,000. This penalty increases to a possible 10-year prison sentence if the prostitute is younger than 18.

(Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 53A (2024).)

What Are Massachusetts' Penalties for Pimping Offenses?

Massachusetts doesn't use the term "pimping," but it penalizes acts commonly referred to as pimping. For instance, Massachusetts law prohibits:

• taking or sharing in a prostitute's earnings
• soliciting or receiving compensation for soliciting a prostitute, and
• keeping or maintaining a house of prostitution.

These offenses carry maximum penalties ranging from two to five years of incarceration. If a defendant lives off the earnings of a prostitute younger than 18, the law imposes a mandatory five-year sentence.

(Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, §§ 4B, 7, 8, 24 (2024).)

What Are Massachusetts' Penalties for Pandering or Procuring Offenses?

Defendants who persuade someone to become a prostitute or secure their services for a house of prostitution commit what are commonly known as pandering or procuring offenses.

Massachusetts makes it a crime to:

• fraudulently or deceitfully entice a person away from their home or elsewhere for prostitution
• induce a minor to become a prostitute
• induce a person to work in a house of prostitution
• procure a person to become a prostitute or to work for a house of prostitution, or
• unlawfully drug a person to detain or keep them in a house of prostitution.

The penalties for these offenses range from one year of jail time to five years in prison. Most have minimum sentences.

(Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, §§ 2, 4A, 6, 12, 13 (2024).)

What Are Massachusetts' Penalties for Sex Trafficking?

Massachusetts' sex trafficking law covers a wide range of offenses involving trafficking individuals for "commercial sexual activity," sexually explicit performances, or the production of unlawful pornography. The law broadly defines "commercial sexual activity" to include giving, promising, or receiving anything of value for a sexual act. Prostitution falls under this definition.

A person commits a trafficking offense by knowingly recruiting, obtaining, enticing, transporting, or harboring another person to engage in prostitution or benefiting, financially or otherwise, from these activities. The law doesn't require any force, fraud, or coercion.

Penalties for sex trafficking are harsh. A conviction carries a minimum five-year prison sentence and up to 20 years, plus a $25,000 fine. Child sex trafficking can result in up to a life sentence.

(Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 265, §§ 49, 50 (2024).)

Talk to a Lawyer

If you face criminal charges for prostitution or related offenses, talk to a criminal defense lawyer. A lawyer can help you understand what's at stake, evaluate possible defenses, and protect your rights.