§82.2. Purchase of commercial sexual activity; penalties

            A. It shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly give, agree to give, or offer to give anything of value to another in order to engage in sexual intercourse with a person who receives or agrees to receive anything of value as compensation for such activity.

            B. For purposes of this Section, "sexual intercourse" means anal, oral, or vaginal intercourse or any other sexual activity constituting a crime pursuant to the laws of this state.

            C.(1) Whoever violates the provisions of this Section shall be fined not more than seven hundred fifty dollars or be imprisoned for not more than six months, or both, and one-half of the fines collected shall be distributed in accordance with R.S. 15:539.4.

            (2) On a second conviction, the offender shall be fined not less than one thousand five hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars or be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than two years, or both, and one-half of the fines collected shall be distributed in accordance with R.S. 15:539.4.

            (3) On a third and subsequent conviction, the offender shall be imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not less than two nor more than four years and shall be fined not less than two thousand five hundred dollars nor more than four thousand dollars and one-half of the fines collected shall be distributed in accordance with R.S. 15:539.4.

            (4) Whoever violates the provisions of this Section with a person the offender knows to be under the age of eighteen years, or with a person the offender knows to be a victim of human trafficking as defined by R.S. 14:46.2 or trafficking of children for sexual purposes as defined by R.S. 14:46.3, shall be fined not less than three thousand nor more than fifty thousand dollars, imprisoned at hard labor for not less than fifteen years nor more than fifty years, or both, and one-half of the fines collected shall be distributed in accordance with R.S. 15:539.4.

            (5) Whoever violates the provisions of this Section with a person the offender knows to be under the age of fourteen years shall be fined not less than five thousand and not more than seventy-five thousand dollars, imprisoned at hard labor for not less than twenty-five years nor more than fifty years, or both, and one-half of the fines collected shall be distributed in accordance with R.S. 15:539.4.

            D. In addition to the penalties provided for in Subsection C of this Section, the court shall order the offender to complete the Buyer Beware Program, as provided for in R.S. 15:243, to educate the offender about the harms, exploitation, and negative effects of prostitution. The court shall impose additional court costs in the amount of two hundred dollars to defer the costs of the program.

            E.(1) Any child under the age of eighteen determined to be a victim of this offense shall be eligible for specialized services for sexually exploited children.

            (2) Any person, eighteen years of age or older, determined to be a victim of this offense shall be notified of any treatment or specialized services for sexually exploited persons to the extent that such services are available.

            F. It shall not be a defense to prosecution for a violation of this Section that the person who receives or agrees to receive anything of value is actually a law enforcement officer or peace officer acting within the official scope of his duties.

            Acts 2014, No. 564, §1; Acts 2018, No. 663, §1.