Amends TCA Title 38; Title 39 and Title 40.

This bill prohibits a person who in good faith reports a criminal act, committed against the person or another, from being arrested, charged, or prosecuted for prostitution if the evidence for the arrest, charge, or prosecution for the offense of prostitution resulted solely from the person’s report of the criminal act.<br /> <br /> This bill also provides that, in an action based on a reported criminal act for which a reporting person is subpoenaed as a witness by a party, or otherwise testifies at trial, the reporting person must be considered a victim for the purposes of Tennessee Rules of Evidence.<br /> <br /> PATRONIZING PROSTITUTION<br /> <br /> Present law provides that patronizing prostitution is a Class A misdemeanor. Under this bill, patronizing prostitution is reclassified as a Class E felony.<br /> <br /> Present law provides that it is not a defense to the offense of patronizing prostitution that the following is true:<br /> <br /> (1) The subject of the offense is a law enforcement officer;<br /> <br /> (2) The victim of the offense is a minor and consented to the offense; or<br /> <br /> (3) The solicitation was unsuccessful, the conduct solicited was not engaged in, or the law enforcement officer could not engage in the solicited offense.<br /> <br /> This bill clarifies that it is also not a defense if the victim of the offense was a minor and the offender reasonably believed that the victim was an adult.<br />