Wisconsin Prostitution and Solicitation Laws

Wisconsin Statutes Chapter 940: Crimes Against Sexual Morality, Subchapter 5

Prostitution — Wisc. Stat. Section 944.30

Patronizing Prostitutes — Wisc. Stat. Section 944.31

Soliciting Prostitutes — Wisc. Stat. Section 944.32

Pandering — Wisc. Stat. Section 944.33

Keeping a Place of Prostitution — Wisc. Stat. Section 944.34

Wisconsin prohibits any of the following activities:

• Prostitution — Offering to engage in non-marital sexual intercourse or any other act for purposes of sexual gratification in exchange for anything of value
• Patronizing prostitutes — Entering or remaining in a place of prostitution to have non-marital sex, oral or anal sex, masturbation, or other sexual contact with a prostitute.
• Pandering — Soliciting a person to have non-marital sex, oral or anal sex, masturbation, or other sexual relations with a known sex worker. This crime also includes facilitating another person to practice prostitution.
• Soliciting prostitutes — Intentionally soliciting or causing a person to engage in prostitution.
• Keeping a place of prostitution — Intentionally keeping a brothel or allowing another to act as an inmate of a place of prostitution.

Besides these laws, pimps and others may face human trafficking charges. Wisconsin law prohibits a person from knowingly engaging in the trafficking (recruiting, harboring, transporting, obtaining, etc.) of a person for labor, services, or commercial sex acts by any of the following means:

• Physical harm, violence, or force
• Financial harm or threats of financial harm
• Debt bondage
• Restraining the person
• Extortion
• Destroying, hiding, or possessing any identification document of the person
• Fraud or deception
• Controlling or threatening to control access to addictive drugs
• Any other means of coercing, threatening, or intimidating the person

The penalties for the above crimes vary by the class of offense. The possible sentences are as follows:

• Benefiting from human trafficking: Class D Felony — Imprisonment of up to 25 years and a fine of up to $100,000
• Profiting from human trafficking: Class F Felony — Up to 12.5 years in prison and possible fines of up to $25,000
• Soliciting prostitutes or maintaining a house of prostitution: Class H Felony — Imprisonment of up to six years and fines of up to $10,000
• Prostitution, patronizing a prostitute, and pandering: Class A Misdemeanor — Up to nine months in jail and a fine of up to $10,000

If a human trafficking victim suffers an injury or dies as a result of the defendant’s acts, they (or their family) can sue for damages, punitive damage, and attorney's fees.