Penal Code § 266h PC prohibits “pimping,” which is deriving any support or revenue from another person’s work as a prostitute. This includes managing a brothel or providing protection or services to prostitutes in exchange for a share of their earnings. Pimping is a felony punishable by up to 6 years in jail or prison.
The full text of the statute reads:
266h. (a) Except as provided in subdivision (b), any person who, knowing another person is a prostitute, lives or derives support or maintenance in whole or in part from the earnings or proceeds of the person’s prostitution, or from money loaned or advanced to or charged against that person by any keeper or manager or inmate of a house or other place where prostitution is practiced or allowed, or who solicits or receives compensation for soliciting for the person, is guilty of pimping, a felony, and shall be punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, four, or six years.
(b) Any person who, knowing another person is a prostitute, lives or derives support or maintenance in whole or in part from the earnings or proceeds of the person’s prostitution, or from money loaned or advanced to or charged against that person by any keeper or manager or inmate of a house or other place where prostitution is practiced or allowed, or who solicits or receives compensation for soliciting for the person, when the prostitute is a minor, is guilty of pimping a minor, a felony, and shall be punishable as follows:
(1) If the person engaged in prostitution is a minor 16 years of age or older, the offense is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, four, or six years.
(2) If the person engaged in prostitution is under 16 years of age, the offense is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison for three, six, or eight years.
Examples:
- receiving money from a “call girl” after she gave oral sex to “a client.”
- using all of a prostitute’s money, that she received as a loan from a brothel, to pay rent.
- asking a prostitute for $20 after referring a friend to her for “services.”
Our California criminal defense attorneys will highlight the following in this article:
- 1. What is “pimping”?
- 2. Are there defenses?
- 3. What are the penalties?
- 4. Are there immigration consequences?
- 5. Can I get a conviction expunged?
- 6. Does a conviction affect gun rights?
- 7. Are there related offenses?
- Additional Reading
It is a crime to: receive money or another form of compensation, from someone you know to be a prostitute in California.
1. What is “pimping”?
For you to be convicted of pimping in California, prosecutors must prove beyond a reasonable doubt the following elements of the jury instructions:
- you knew that a certain person was a prostitute, and
- one or more of the following was true:
- the money that the prostitute earned supported you (either in whole or in part),
- the money loaned to the prostitute, by someone who ran a house of prostitution, supported you (either in whole or in part), or
- you asked for or received payment from the prostitute for soliciting prostitution customers.1
Penal Code 647b PC defines a “prostitute” as a person who:
- engages in sexual intercourse or any lewd act,
- with another person in exchange for money (or other compensation).2
A “lewd act” means physical contact with the:
- genitals,
- buttocks, or
- female breast
of either the prostitute or customer with some part of the other person’s body. This contact must be for the purpose of sexual arousal.3
“Solicit” under this statute means to:
- tempt someone,
- lure someone, or
- try to obtain something from someone.4
2. Are there defenses?
Here at Shouse Law Group, we have represented literally thousands of people charged with sex crimes such as pimping. In our experience, the following defenses have been very effective with prosecutors, judges, and juries at getting these charges reduced or dismissed.
You Were Entrapped
Police routinely go undercover and carry out stings in attempt to find suspected pimps in the act. This is perfectly legal. However, police break the law if they engage in entrapment: This is when police pressure you into committing a crime you never would have committed but for the police’s pressure.
We find the best evidence of entrapment to be the police’s own bodycam video and audio recordings. We can use the police’s own actions and words against them to show that they essentially forced you into pimping when you were not predisposed to do it.
If we can show you were entrapped by police, the pimping charge should be dropped.
You Were Falsely Accused
Perhaps someone falsely accused you of pimping out of anger or revenge. A classic scenario is a prostitute falsely accusing her ex-boyfriend of pimping in order to:
- get back at him for some reason, or
- reduce her own criminal liability.
In these cases, we would pore over all the accuser’s recorded communications and interview any eyewitnesses. If we can impeach their credibility and reveal their motivation to lie, the D.A. may be willing to dismiss your charges.
You Did Not Know You Were Receiving Money from a Prostitute
As long as you were genuinely ignorant you were receiving proceeds from prostitution, no crime occurred.
Example: Jennie leases an apartment from Tom. Jennie never tells Tom she is a prostitute.
One night Tom sets up Jennie with his friend, thinking that they may hit it off. When alone, Jennie reveals to the friend she only has sex for money. The friend agrees to pay and to keep her job a secret from Tom.
If Jennie then pays Tom rent using the proceeds of her prostitution, Tom should not be charged with pimping since he has no idea about the money’s source.
A pimping conviction is punishable by up to 6 years in jail or prison.
3. What are the penalties?
A violation of Penal Code 266h is a felony. The crime is punishable by:
- custody in jail or state prison for up to six years, or
- felony (or formal) probation.
Note that if you are convicted of pimping a minor under the age of 18, then you:
- can face up to 8 years in state prison, and
- must register for life as a California sex offender.
4. Are there immigration consequences?
A conviction of this law may have negative immigration consequences.
United States immigration law says that certain kinds of criminal convictions can lead to:
- a non-citizen being deported, and
- a non-citizen being marked “inadmissible.”
A category of “deportable” or “inadmissible” crimes includes “aggravated felonies.”5
This means that:
- if the facts show that you are a non-citizen and committed an aggravated felony,
- then you could be deported or get marked inadmissible.
5. Can I get a conviction expunged?
If you were convicted of pimping, you are entitled to an expungement if you:
- successfully complete probation, or
- complete a jail term (whichever is relevant).
If you violate a probation term, you could still possibly get the offense expunged. Though this would be in the judge’s discretion.
Under Penal Code 1203.4, an expungement releases you from virtually “all penalties and disabilities” arising out of the conviction.6
6. Does a conviction affect gun rights?
A conviction under this statute will have a negative effect on your gun rights.
According to California law, convicted felons are prohibited from:
- acquiring, or
- possessing
a gun in California.
Since pimping is a felony, you will lose your gun rights if convicted of the offense.
7. Are there related offenses?
Pandering – PC 266i
Penal Code 266i PC is the California statute that makes it a crime to:
- pick up, or acquire, a prostitute, or
- convince or persuade another person to become, or continue to be, a prostitute.
Note that unlike pimping, the receipt of money is not a part of pandering. The focus is on the convincing or persuasion.
The following chart compares and contrasts pimping and pandering in California.
| California Law | Pimping (PC 266h) | Pandering (PC 266i) |
| Definition | Deriving support/revenue from a prostitute | Encouraging someone to be a prostitute |
| Examples | Managing a brothel or trading protection or referrals for a prostitute’s earnings | Paying someone to work as a prostitute or asking a brothel to hire the prostitute |
| Penalties | Felony: Up to 6 years in prison (or 8 years if the prostitute is a minor) | Felony: Up to 6 years in prison (or 8 years if the prostitute is a minor) |
| Sex offender registration | Yes, if the prostitute is a minor | Yes, if the prostitute is a minor |
| Possibility of felony probation | Yes | Yes |
| Defenses | Entrapment, false accusations, or lack of knowledge of the prostitution | Entrapment, false accusations, or lack of intent to persuade |
| Deportable crime | Yes | Yes |
| Expungeable crime | Yes | Yes |
| Firearms ban | Yes | Yes |
Supervising or Aiding a Prostitute – PC 653.23
Penal Code 653.23 PC makes it a crime to supervise or assist someone else who either:
- engages in prostitution, or
- loiters for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.
While pimping looks more at the receipt of money, this offense focuses on assistance or supervision.
Human Trafficking – PC 236.1
Under Penal Code 236.1 PC, the crime of “human trafficking” in California is defined as:
- depriving someone of their freedom with the intent to obtain forced labor or services from them,
- depriving someone of their freedom with the intent to violate certain California laws concerning commercial sexual activity and the sexual exploitation of children, or
- persuading a minor to engage in a commercial sex act.
This is a more serious crime than pimping and carries harsher penalties than the same.
Additional Resources
If you are a sex worker in need of help, refer to the following:
- National Harm Reduction Coalition – Resource library
- Red Umbrella Fund – Sex worker-led participatory fund to advance the interest of sex workers
- Sex Workers Project – Medical, financial, and mental health resources
- National Human Trafficking Hotline – Immediate help for victims
- Sex Workers Outreach Project Los Angeles (SWOPLA) – A peer support organization run by sex workers for sex workers.
Legal References:
- CALCRIM No. 1150 – Pimping (Pen. Code, § 266h). Judicial Council of California Criminal Jury Instructions (2024 edition).
To prove that the defendant is guilty of pimping, the People must prove that:
1. The defendant knew that <insert name> was a prostitute;
[AND] <Alternative 2A – money earned by prostitute supported defendant>
[2. The (money/proceeds) that <insert name> earned as a prostitute supported defendant, in whole or in part(;/.)] <Alternative 2B – money loaned by house manager supported defendant>
[2. Money that was (loaned to/advanced to/charged against) <insert name> by a person who (kept/managed/was a prostitute at) the house or other place where the prostitution occurred, supported the defendant in whole or in part(;/.)] <Alternative 2C – defendant asked for payment>
[2. The defendant asked for payment or received payment for soliciting prostitution customers for <insert name>(;/ .)] <Give element 3 when defendant charged with pimping a minor.>
[AND
3. <insert name> was a minor (over the age of 16 years/under the age of 16 years) when (he/she) engaged in the prostitution.] - See same. See also People v. Hill (1980) 103 Cal.App.3d 525; People v. Romo (1962) 200 Cal.App.2d 83; and, Wooten v. Superior Court (2001) 93 Cal.App.4th 422.
- CALCRIM No. 1150 – Pimping. See also Wooten v. Superior Court, Supra. See also H.B. v. Superior Court (Cal. App. 1st Dist. 2023) 97 Cal. App. 5th 341; People v. Vaughn (Cal. App. 4th Dist. 2022) 77 Cal. App. 5th 609.
- See People v. Smith (1955) 44 Cal.2d 77.
- See INA 237 (a) (2) (A).
- California Penal Code 1203.4 PC.