Indicates Matter Stricken

Indicates New Matter

 

Amended

May 13, 2026

 

S. 235

 

Introduced by Senators Kimbrell, Leber and Zell

 

S. Printed 5/13/26--H.                                                                         [SEC 5/14/2026 11:19 AM]

Read the first time April 2, 2025

 

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A bill

 

TO AMEND THE SOUTH CAROLINA CODE OF LAWS BY AMENDING SECTION 16-15-90, RELATING TO PROSTITUTION, SO AS TO REVISE THE STATUTE TO PROHIBIT PROSTITUTION BY A PROSTITUTED PERSON AND TO INCREASE THE PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS; BY AMENDING SECTION 16-15-100, RELATING TO PROSTITUTION, SO AS TO REVISE THE STATUTE TO PROHIBIT CERTAIN ACTIONS RELATED TO A PERSON WHO SOLICITS CUSTOMERS FOR A PROSTITUTED PERSON AND TO INCREASE THE PENALTY FOR VIOLATIONS; BY AMENDING SECTION 16-15-110, RELATING TO VIOLATIONS FOR PROSTITUTION, SO AS TO REVISE THE STATUTE TO PROHIBIT A PERSON FROM SOLICITING A PROTITUTED PERSON.

    Amend Title To Conform

 

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:

 

SECTION 1.  Sections 16-15-90 through 16-15-110 of the S.C. Code are amended to read:

 

    Section 16-15-90.  (A) For the purposes of this section "prostitution" means the practice or instance of engaging in sexual activity for money or any other thing of value.

    (B) It shall beis unlawful to:

    (1) Engage engage in prostitution;

    (2) Aid or abet prostitution knowingly;

    (3) Procure or solicit for the purpose of prostitution;

    (4)(2) Expose expose indecently the private person for the purpose of prostitution or other indecency; or

    (5)(3) Reside reside in, enter, or remain in any place, structure, building, vehicle, trailer, or conveyance for the purpose of lewdness, assignation or prostitution;.

    (6) Keep or set up a house of ill fame, brothel or bawdyhouse;

    (7) Receive any person for purposes of lewdness, assignation or prostitution into any vehicle, conveyance, trailer, place, structure or building;

    (8) Permit any person to remain for the purpose of lewdness, assignation or prostitution in any vehicle, conveyance, trailer, place, structure or building;

    (9) Direct, take or transport, offer or agree to take or transport or aid or assist in transporting any person to any vehicle, conveyance, trailer, place, structure or building or to any other person with knowledge or having reasonable cause to believe that the purpose of such directing, taking or transporting is prostitution, lewdness or assignation;

    (10) Lease or rent or contract to lease or rent any vehicle, conveyance, trailer, place, structure or building or part thereof believing or having reasonable cause to believe that it is intended to be used for any of the purposes herein prohibited;  or

    (11) Aid, abet, or participate knowingly in the doing of any of the acts herein prohibited.

    (C) In the prosecution of a person who is charged with a violation of this section, it is an affirmative defense to those charges if the person was under duress or coerced into committing the offense or the crime was committed as a direct result of or interrelated to victimization of human trafficking.

    (D) A person is immune from prosecution under this section if that person was under the age of eighteen at the time of the alleged act.

    (E) A person who violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be punished as follows:

       (1) for a first offense, a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars or confinement in prison for a period of not more than thirty days;

       (2) for a second offense, a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars or confinement in prison for a period of not more than sixty days, or both; or

       (3) for a third or any subsequent offense, a fine not exceeding three thousand dollars or confinement for a period of not more than one year, or both.

    (F) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 22-3-540, 22-3-545, and 22-3-550, a violation of this section must be tried in magistrates court.

 

    Section 16-15-100. (A) For the purposes of this section:

       (1) "Prostitution" means the practice or instance of engaging in sexual activity for money or any other thing of value.

       (2) "Sexual grooming" means a person's attempt to gradually establish an emotional connection with another person to lessen their inhibitions to engage in sexual activities with or at the direction of the person.

    (B) It shall further be unlawful to:

    (1) Procure a female inmate for a house of prostitution ;

           (2) (1) procure, recruit, sexually groom, cause, Cause, induce, persuade, or encourage by promise, threat, violence, or by any scheme or device a female person to become a prostitute or to enter, remain, or reside an inmate ofin a house ofplace, structure, building, vehicle, trailer, or conveyance with the intent to commit and act of prostitution;

    (3) Induce, persuade or encourage a female to come into or leave this State for the purpose of prostitution or to become an inmate in a house of prostitution;

        (4) (2)Receive receive or give, or agree to receive or give, any money or thing of value for procuring or attempting to procure any female person to become a prostitute or an inmate in a house of prostitution;

       (5)(3) Accept  accept or receive knowingly any money or other thing of value without consideration from a prostitute;  or

       (4) keep or set up a trailer, place, structure, building, or any other conveyance to facilitate prostitution;

       (5) receive any person for purposes of prostitution into any vehicle, conveyance, trailer, place, structure, or building;

       (6) permit any person to remain for the purpose of prostitution in any vehicle, conveyance, trailer, place, structure, or building;

       (7) direct, take, or transport, offer or agree to direct, take, or transport, or aid or assist in directing, taking, or transporting any person to any vehicle, conveyance, trailer, place, structure, or building or to any other person with knowledge of or having reasonable cause to believe that the purpose of such directing, taking, or transporting is prostitution;

       (8) lease or rent, or contract to lease or rent, any vehicle, conveyance, trailer, place, structure, or building or part thereof with actual knowledge or having reasonable cause to believe that it is intended to be used for prostitution;

       (9) promote, market, or advertise prostitution on a media platform accessible to the public including, but not limited to, social media platforms; or

       (10) Aid,aid, abet, or participate knowingly in the doing of any of the acts herein prohibited.

    (C) In the prosecution of a person who is charged with a violation of this section, it is an affirmative defense to those charges if the person was under duress or coerced into committing the offense or the crime was committed as a direct result of or interrelated to victimization of human trafficking.

    (D) A person who violates this section must be punished as follows:

       (1) for a first offense, a person is guilty of misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined at least three thousand dollars and imprisoned for a period of not more than three years;

       (2) for a second offense, a person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined at least five thousand dollarsand imprisoned for a period of not more than ofive years; or

       (3) for a third or subsequent offense, a person is guilty of a felony and, upon conviction, must be fined at least five thousand dollars with a maximum of up to ten thousand dollars and confinement in prison for not more than ten years.

    (E) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 22-3-540, 22-3-545, and 22-3-550, a violation of this section must be tried in magistrates court.

 

    Section 16-15-110. (A) Any person violating any provision of Sections 16-15-90 and 16-15-100 must, upon conviction, be punished as follows:For the purposes of this section "prostitution" means the practice or instance of engaging in sexual activity for money or any other thing of value.

    (1) for the first offense, a fine not exceeding two hundred dollars or confinement in prison for a period of not more than thirty days;

    (2) for the second offense, a fine not exceeding one thousand dollars or imprisonment for not exceeding six months, or both;

    (3) for the third or any subsequent offense, a fine not exceeding three thousand dollars or imprisonment for not less than one year, or both.

    (B) It is unlawful for a person to solicit, induce, entice, or offer money or anything of value to a prostituted person for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.

    (C) A person who violates this section must be punished as follows:

       (1) for a first offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined at least two thousand dollars and imprisoned for a period of not more than two years;

       (2) for a second offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined at least three thousand dollars and imprisoned for a period of not more than three years; or

       (3) for a third or subsequent offense, the person is guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction, must be fined at least five thousand dollars with a maximum fine of up to ten thousand dollars and imprisoned for a period of not more than five years.

    (D) Notwithstanding the provisions of Sections 22-3-540, 22-3-545, and 22-3-550, a violation of this section must be tried in magistrates court.

 

SECTION 2.  Article 1, Chapter 15, Title 16 of the S.C. Code is amended by adding:

 

    Section 16-15-115. (A) When a person who has not previously been convicted of an offense pursuant to Section 16-15-90 or any similar offense under any state or federal statute relating to prostitution pleads guilty to or is found guilty of a violation of Section 16-15-90, the court, without entering a judgment of guilt and with the consent of the accused, may defer further proceedings and place him on probation upon terms and conditions as it requires, including the requirement that the person cooperate in a treatment and rehabilitation program of a state-supported facility, if available. Upon violation of a term or condition, the court may enter an adjudication of guilt and proceed as otherwise provided. Upon fulfillment of the terms and conditions, the court shall discharge the person and dismiss the proceedings against him. Discharge and dismissal pursuant to this section is without court adjudication of guilt and is not a conviction for purposes of this section or for purposes of disqualifications or disabilities imposed by law upon conviction of a crime. However, a nonpublic record must be forwarded to and retained by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division solely for the purpose of use by the courts in determining whether or not a person has committed a subsequent offense pursuant to this section. Discharge and dismissal pursuant to this section may occur only once with respect to any person.

    (B) Upon the dismissal of the person and discharge of the proceedings against him pursuant to subsection (A), the person may apply to the court for an order to expunge from all official records (other than the nonpublic records to be retained as provided in subsection (B)) all recordation relating to his arrest, indictment or information, trial, finding of guilty, and dismissal and discharge pursuant to this section. If the court determines, after a hearing, that the person was dismissed and the proceedings against him discharged, it shall enter the order. The effect of the order is to restore the person, in the contemplation of the law, to the status he occupied before the arrest or indictment or information. No person as to whom the order has been entered may be held pursuant to another provision of law to be guilty of perjury or otherwise giving a false statement by reason of his failure to recite or acknowledge the arrest, or indictment or information, or trial in response to an inquiry made of him for any purpose.

    (C) Before a person may be discharged and the proceedings dismissed pursuant to this section, the person must pay a fee to the summary court of one hundred fifty dollars. No portion of the fee may be waived, reduced, or suspended, except in cases of indigency. If the court determines that a person is indigent, the court may partially or totally waive, reduce, or suspend the fee. The revenue collected pursuant to this subsection must be retained by the jurisdiction that heard or processed the case and paid to the State Treasurer within thirty days of receipt. The State Treasurer shall transmit these funds to the Prosecution Coordination Commission which shall then apportion these funds among the sixteen judicial circuits on a per capita basis equal to the population in that circuit compared to the population of the State as a whole based on the most recent official United States census. The funds must be used for drug treatment court programs only. The amounts generated by this subsection are in addition to any amounts presently being provided for drug treatment court programs and may not be used to supplant funding already allocated for these services. The State Treasurer may request the State Auditor to examine the financial records of a jurisdiction which he believes is not timely transmitting the funds required to be paid to the State Treasurer pursuant to this subsection. The State Auditor is further authorized to conduct these examinations and the local jurisdiction is required to participate in and cooperate fully with the examination.

 

SECTION 3.  The repeal or amendment by this act of any law, whether temporary or permanent or civil or criminal, does not affect pending actions, rights, duties, or liabilities founded thereon, or alter, discharge, release or extinguish any penalty, forfeiture, or liability incurred under the repealed or amended law, unless the repealed or amended provision shall so expressly provide.  After the effective date of this act, all laws repealed or amended by this act must be taken and treated as remaining in full force and effect for the purpose of sustaining any pending or vested right, civil action, special proceeding, criminal prosecution, or appeal existing as of the effective date of this act, and for the enforcement of rights, duties, penalties, forfeitures, and liabilities as they stood under the repealed or amended laws.

 

SECTION 4.  If any section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, or word of this act is for any reason held to be unconstitutional or invalid, such holding shall not affect the constitutionality or validity of the remaining portions of this act, the General Assembly hereby declaring that it would have passed this act, and each and every section, subsection, paragraph, subparagraph, sentence, clause, phrase, and word thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more other sections, subsections, paragraphs, subparagraphs, sentences, clauses, phrases, or words hereof may be declared to be unconstitutional, invalid, or otherwise ineffective.

 

SECTION 5.  This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.

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