BROTHELS

Prostitution is legal throughout most of Nevada. It is banned in the two largest counties, Clark (Las Vegas) and Washoe (Reno), however, and it is heavily regulated everywhere else. One of the main regulations is the prohibition against prostitution performed outside of a house of prostitution, otherwise known as a “brothel”. Even though brothels are legal, they are heavily regulated. Convictions for violations of the laws relating to brothels are severe and include jail time and harsh fines.

What is the legal definition of placing a person in a house of prostitution?

The laws relating to brothels are governed by NRS 201.380, 201.390, 201.400, 201.410, 201.420, 201.430, and 201.440.

NRS 201.380 – Restriction on location of houses of ill fame; penalty.

It shall be unlawful for any owner, or agent of any owner, or any other person to keep any house of ill fame, or to let or rent to any person whatever, for any length of time whatever, to be kept or used as a house of ill fame, or resort for the purposes of prostitution any house, room or structure situated within 400 yards of any church, edifice, building or structure erected for and used for devotional services or religious worship in this state.
Any person violating the provisions of subsection 1 shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500.

NRS 201.390 – Property on principal business streets not to be rented for purposes of prostitution; penalties.

It is unlawful for any owner or agent of any owner or any other person to keep, let or rent for any length of time, or at all, any house fronting on the principal business street or thoroughfare of any of the towns of this state.
Any person violating the provisions of subsection 1 shall be punished by a fine of not more than $500.

NRS 201.400 – General reputation competent evidence.

In the trial of all cases arising under the provisions of NRS 201.380 and 201.390, evidence of general reputation is competent evidence as to the question of ill fame of any house alleged to be so kept and to the question of the ill fame of any person.

NRS 201.410 – Duties of sheriff and district attorney; failure to act; penalty.

The district attorney and sheriff of each county in this state shall see that the provisions of NRS 201.380 are strictly enforced and carried into effect, and upon neglect so to do, they, or either of them, shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor in office and may be proceeded against by accusation as provided in chapter 283 of NRS.

NRS 201.420 – Keeping disorderly house; penalty.

Any person who shall keep any disorderly house, or any house of public resort, by which the peace, comfort or decency of the immediate neighborhood, or of any family thereof, is habitually disturbed, or who shall keep any inn in a disorderly manner, is guilty of a misdemeanor.

NRS 201.430 – Unlawful advertising of prostitution; penalties.

It is unlawful for any person engaged in conduct which is unlawful pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of NRS 207.030, or any owner, operator, agent or employee of a house of prostitution, or anyone acting on behalf of any such person, to advertise the unlawful conduct or any house of prostitution
1. In any public theater, on the public streets of any city or town, or on any public highway; or
2. In any county, city or town where prostitution is prohibited by local ordinance or where the licensing of a house of prostitution is prohibited by state statute.
It is unlawful for any person knowingly to prepare or print an advertisement concerning a house of prostitution not licensed for that purpose pursuant to NRS 244.345, or conduct which is unlawful pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of NRS 207.030, in any county, city or town where prostitution is prohibited by local ordinance or where the licensing of a house of prostitution is prohibited by state statute.
Inclusion in any display, handbill or publication of the address, location or telephone number of a house of prostitution or of identification of a means of transportation to such a house, or of directions telling how to obtain any such information, constitutes prima facie evidence of advertising for the purposes of this section.
Any person, company, association or corporation violating the provisions of this section shall be punished:
1. For the first violation within a 3-year period, by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 6 months, or by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by both fine and imprisonment.
2. For a second violation within a 3-year period, by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 30 days nor more than 6 months, and by a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $1,000.
3. For a third or subsequent violation within a 3-year period, by imprisonment in the county jail for 6 months and by a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $1,000.

NRS 201.440 – Unlawful to permit illegal advertising of houses of prostitution; penalties.

In any county, city or town where prostitution is prohibited by local ordinance or where the licensing of a house of prostitution is prohibited by state statute, it is unlawful for any person, company, association or corporation knowingly to allow any person engaged in conduct which is unlawful pursuant to paragraph (b) of subsection 1 of NRS 207.030, or any owner, operator, agent or employee of a house of prostitution, or anyone acting on behalf of any such person, to advertise a house of prostitution in his or her place of business.
Any person, company, association or corporation that violates the provisions of this section shall be punished:
1. For the first violation within a 3-year period, by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 6 months, or by a fine of not more than $1,000, or by both fine and imprisonment.
2. For a second violation within a 3-year period, by imprisonment in the county jail for not less than 30 days nor more than 6 months, and by a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $1,000.
3. For a third or subsequent violation within a 3-year period, by imprisonment in the county jail for 6 months and by a fine of not less than $250 nor more than $1,000.

I thought prostitution was legal in Nevada?

And you are correct, prostitution is legal in Nevada. In fact, Nevada is the only state where prostitution is legal. However, that does not mean that prostitution can be done anywhere and in any manner that the prostitute wants. Nevada requires that prostitution be conducted only in licensed brothels, and only in the eight counties in Nevada with populations under 700,000 people. There are 2 counties with populations over 700,000:

Clark County (which contains Las Vegas); and
Washoe County (which contains Reno).

In addition, two counties, as well as the independent city of Carson City have all opted out of allowing legal prostitution.

Douglas County; and
Lincoln County;

There are, therefore 12 counties that are legally allowed to have brothels. Currently, only 8 of those counties have licensed brothels in operation:

Elko County;
Humboldt County;
Lander County;
Lyon County;
Mineral County;
Nye County;
Storey County; and
White Pine County.

There are 4 counties that are currently permitted to have licensed brothels but do not currently have any brothels legally conducting business:

Churchill County;
Esmerelda County;
Eureka County; and
Pershing County.

How is it that Brothels are legal in Nevada?

Brothels have legally existed in Nevada since the 1800’s. For many years, the only regulation relating to brothels existed in the form of public nuisance laws. Throughout the first half of the 20^th Century, officials in Las Vegas and Reno used these laws to shut down all of the brothels in the two cities. By 1951, both cities had managed to shut down both cities’ red light districts, effectively moving the legal brothel industry to the smaller towns littered throughout Nevada.

In 1971, the owner of the Mustang Ranch convinced county officials to pass an ordinance requiring the licensing of both brothels and prostitutes. This, of course, put law enforcement officers in a tough spot because once a brothel was licensed, the public nuisance laws could not be used to shut it down.

As a direct response to the licensing laws in Storey County, officials in Las Vegas implored the Nevada Legislature to regulate where brothels would be allowed to conduct business. The resulting laws prohibited prostitution in counties where the population was 400,000 or more (Washoe and Clark County).

In 1977, a brothel owner in Nye County filed suit against local officials claiming that the state laws relating to brothels had removed the implication that brothels were a public nuisance simply by means of being a brothel. This interpretation of the law effectively meant that because brothels were legally permitted to exist, they could not be considered a public nuisance unless there was a showing that some conduct or explicit act taken by the brothel owners/residents violated public nuisance laws. The Nevada Supreme Court agreed with this interpretation one year later.

Since 1978, the laws regarding brothels have not changed much, except to add clarification (for example, the maximum population was raised from 400,000 to 700,000 to allow for some of the up-and-coming counties to continue operating brothels, while still prohibiting them in Washoe and Clark counties).

Currently, there are 19 brothels operating in Nevada.

What are the licensing requirements?

Anyone wishing to open a brothel must apply to the sheriff’s office for a license. The fee involved is set by the individual county, and is applied to an intensive investigation (if the investigation ends up costing more than the fee, the applicant will be required to pay the difference). The applicant must also deposit 3 months worth of the annual license fee (which ranges from $100,000/year in Storey County to $200,000/year in Lander County).

The application is required to set forth:

The names, ages, and addresses of all persons who will have a financial or ownership interest in the operation, including the owner of the real property;
The names, ages, and addresses of anyone who is or will be personally responsible for the conduct and management of the operation;
The names, ages, and addresses of all persons designated as trustees of an inter vivos trust, directors, officers or shareholders of a corporation, or members or managers of a limited liability company;
A recent photograph of all of the above-mentioned people;
Names and addresses of any other businesses an applicant has a financial or ownership interest in and the type of business and nature of the applicant’s interest;
Names and addresses of each of the applicant’s current and former employers for the preceding 10 years;
The applicant’s current address and all for addresses in the preceding ten years;
A list of all prior convictions of the applicant for any crime, excluding minor traffic violations; the list must include a statement of the offense, the place of its occurrence, the date of its occurrence, and the disposition of the case;
A complete and accurate financial statement of the applicant prepared by a licensed certified public accountant;
Complete federal income tax returns for the applicant for the preceding five years;
The street address and legal description of the property upon which the proposed brothel is to be located, together with copies of all deeds, mortgages, deeds of trust, liens or other encumbrances, leasehold interests, or other interests relating to the property;
A complete list of any children the applicant has under the age of eighteen, including names, addresses, phone numbers, any court orders for child support and an affidavit that all child support payments are current
A court certified copy of the inter vivos trust if applicant is designated trustee, the bylaws of a corporation, or the operating agreement of a limited liability company;
An executed comprehensive release authorizing the investigating authority to obtain any and all information deemed pertinent to the granting of a license;
A list consisting of a minimum of three verifiable personal references with addresses and telephone numbers; and
Any other information reasonably deemed necessary or useful by the board.

Once the board has conducted a thorough investigation and deemed someone fit for a brothel license, there are still numerous restrictions and requirements that must be adhered to (as well as the annual licensing fees) in order for the brothel to continue operations. Some of these restrictions and regulations include:

There can only be up to 3 signs placed so that they are not a hazard;
The brothel must be fenced in, with a resort style entrance gate to restrict access;
No prostitution related activities may be conducted outside of the fenced-in area;
Nude shows can be conducted in licensed brothels;
Possible limitations on the hours per day or per week when business may be conducted, to be determined by the board;
Possible limitations on the type, signing, and size of the building housing the brothel, to be determined by the board;
Possible limitations on the number of prostitutes that work in an operation, to be determined by the board;
Gaming may be allowed, pursuant to Nevada Gaming laws;
Any other restrictions deemed necessary by the Board.

What about all of the prostitutes in Las Vegas?

Those prostitutes are breaking the law. As already noted, Prostitution in Nevada is only legal inside a licensed brothel, and brothels are not allowed in Clark County. Nevertheless, there are still thousands of prostitutes actively working in Las Vegas, accounting for some 300 arrests every month. In fact, while legal prostitution grosses approximately $75 million every year in Nevada, illegal prostitution grosses closer to $5 billion every year in Las Vegas alone.

As anyone who has been to Las Vegas and walked along the Strip at night can attest, there are hundreds of thousands of flyers constantly being distributed all along the strip advertising services such as “escort,” “entertainment,” or “companionship.” Regardless of the word choice used, if the end result is prostitution, then the transaction is illegal. As a result of this vast illegal prostitution in Las Vegas, the city of sin was recently identified both as one of the cities with the highest rates of child prostitution, as well as one of the most likely destinations for human trafficking in the U.S.

I still don’t understand, isn’t prostitution bad? Why does Nevada allow brothels?

The debate over the legalization of prostitution has been going on probably as long as prostitution has been around. In recent times, the debate has centered on:

Working conditions – generally speaking, when a potential customer enters a brothel in Nevada, they ring a bell and all of the women not already engaged by a customer are required to come to the main entrance and take part in a line-up like show dogs being paraded around at Westminster. If the girl does not show up quickly enough, heavy fines are imposed. The discussion generally focuses on the power imbalance between brothel owners and the workers, claiming that the power is shifted so far in favor of the brothel owners that working in a licensed brothel is akin to slavery.
Hours – Shifts are usually 12 hours long and the women are not allowed to nap during that time in case they need to show up for one of the above-mentioned lineups. Also, many brothels do not allow the women to leave the premises during their “tour” which can last for weeks at a time. Other counties have imposed restrictions requiring the women to leave the county entirely when they are not at the brothel for one of their “tours.”
Restricted rights – In some counties, women with children are not allowed to live in the area, while in others, women are not allowed to leave the brothel after 5:00 p.m. Women with cars are often required to register the vehicle with the local law enforcement, or are even forbidden from having a vehicle during their “tour.” There are even claims that many of the brothel owners won’t allow the women to read while waiting for customers or even visit their own doctors, instead being forced to visit the doctors that the brothel chooses.
Decriminalization and Deregulation – There is a trend in the sex worker rights movement to push for full decriminalization and deregulation of prostitution in Nevada. Those in favor point to the licensing as a means to create a permanent record which can then lead to discrimination later on, as well as the large power difference between the prostitute and the brothel owner which can lead to less desirable conditions. Proponents of deregulation also note that the current regulations are only in place to protect the customers and not the women.

Is there any chance that prostitution will become legal in Las Vegas?

It is unlikely. The Nevada Resort Association is heavily opposed to prostitution in Nevada because it diminishes the image of the entire state. Consequently, while they push to rid the state of any legal prostitution, they will do everything in their power to ensure that legal prostitution does not make its way into Las Vegas. Generally speaking, while most Nevadans are not opposed to the existence of legal brothels within the state, the population of Las Vegas is opposed to legalizing prostitution in the city of sin by a margin of almost 2-1 (approximately 60%-35%).

What are the possible penalties for violating the laws regulating brothels?

If convicted of violating any of the laws regulating legal brothels, the brothel owner will be fine up to $500. Many of the opponents of legalized brothel prostitution in Nevada have pointed out that this is a paltry sum in light of the amount of money that the brothel owners are making, further noting that the penalties that are imposed on the workers for being late to a lineup or violations of other rules are more than the legal fines.

What do I do if I’ve been charged with violating any of the laws relating to brothels?

As with any crime, it is very important that you speak with an experienced criminal defense attorney as soon as possible so that you can discuss the specific circumstances as well as any defenses that may apply to your case.