Last Updated on July 2, 2025
In Hollywood movies, a pimp is someone who forces someone to sell their body for sex and then takes all of their money. These fictional pimps are willing to beat, drug, and even rape women to exert control over them. While this does occasionally happen in reality, pimping is often less clear-cut. Even friends of prostitutes who offer them protection in exchange for a fee are still technically considered pimps. Similarly, someone who helps a woman list her “escort services” online in exchange for a percentage of the woman’s pay could be accused of pandering if she actually operates as a prostitute. Unfortunately, these laws are rather complex, which is why it’s so common for those charged with pimping and pandering to accidentally say something that can be used against them later. If you are facing allegations for either of these offenses in San Diego, contact attorney Peter M. Liss as soon as possible.
What is the Difference Between Pimping and Pandering?
Under California Penal Code section 266(h) (PC), a pimp is someone who collects all or some of a prostitute’s pay, whether or not that person helped the prostitute solicit clients. A pimp does not need to threaten, drug, or beat a prostitute, just take a portion of her earnings. If someone takes 10% of a prostitute’s earnings in exchange for letting her rent a room from your home, they technically worked as a pimp.
Pandering is a separate offense filed under California Penal Code section 266(i) (PC) —though these two charges are often filed together. Pandering occurs when someone helps make someone available as a prostitute by encouraging or persuading the individual to become (or remain) a prostitute. This “convincing” could involve force, threats or violence, lies, promises, drugging someone, or being honest and straightforward about how you believe prostitution could improve someone’s current situation. Whereas pimping requires you to collect money from the prostitute, you can be convicted of pandering without ever taking a cent.
Essentially the distinction between pimping vs. pandering is that a pimp collects all or some of a prostitute’s pay, whereas pandering occurs when someone encourages or persuades someone to become or stay a prostitute.
What is the Sentence for Pimping or Pandering?
Both of these offenses are felonies, punishable by up to six years in state prison and$15,000 in fines —even for a first-time offense. If any of the prostitutes were minors, the sentence could be increased to eight years, and you could be subjected to mandatory sex offender registration. These sentences are serious and require the assistance of a skilled defense lawyer.
How to Beat a Pimping and Pandering Charge
There are many different defenses for these charges, and, ultimately, the best defense comes down to the case’s specifics. In cases where someone was allegedly forced into prostitution, a lawyer may, for example, claim that their client was wrongly accused by the alleged victim or subjected to illegal search and seizure.
Alternatively, they may argue that there is insufficient evidence to prove their client’s guilt. In a pimping case, this means proving that the defendant knowingly took money from someone who was engaging in work as a prostitute and not for a legitimate expense like food, driving expenses, etc. For pandering cases, this means showing that someone encouraged another individual to become or stay a prostitute. You would not be guilty of either crime if, for example, you drove a prostitute to a client’s home and tried to discourage them from engaging in sex acts for money —even if you accepted gas money from them in return.
Knowledge and intent are critical in these cases, so if you are collecting a portion of someone’s pay in exchange for security services but are not aware that the person is offering sex acts in exchange for money, you are not guilty of pimping. Similarly, if you casually mentioned understanding why some women become prostitutes because the money is good and the work is easy, you couldn’t be convicted of pandering even if the individual later became a prostitute.
In some cases, the best option may be pleading the charges down to supervising or aiding a prostitute, Penal Code section 653.23 (PC), a misdemeanor offense punishable by no more than six months of jail time.
Pimping and Pandering Vs. Human Trafficking
These two crimes are sometimes connected to human trafficking, but just as they are distinct from one another, they are not the same as human trafficking. Human trafficking occurs when someone deprives another person’s liberty to obtain forced labor or services —essentially, slavery. Sex trafficking is a common form of human trafficking that involves depriving someone of their freedom with the intent to violate the state’s pimping and pandering laws. This law can also be charged when someone attempts to convince a minor to become a prostitute.
While there is some crossover between human trafficking and pimping and pandering, most prostitutes voluntarily choose to do sex work and are not trafficking victims. When it comes to those forced into sex work or underage sex workers though, sex trafficking has occurred.
Unfortunately, many people accidentally say something to the police that can help prosecutors later prove these charges. Never speak with the police without a defense attorney at your side.
As you might imagine, sex trafficking has a much lengthier sentence than pimping and pandering, with penalties of up to 12 years or even life imprisonment if force, fear, violence, or threats were used.
Similar Criminal Charges
Those charged with pimping and pandering often face other criminal charges as well. Crimes commonly charged alongside these offenses include:
- production or possession of child pornography
- sexual battery
- statutory rape
- sextortion
- revenge porn
- forced sodomy
- forced oral copulation
- drug crimes
- supervising or aiding a prostitute
- lewd conduct in public
- domestic violence
- contributing to the delinquency of a minor
- failure to register as a sex offender
When hiring a lawyer to protect you against these allegations, always work with someone with experience fighting all types of violent and sex crimes you have been charged with.
Call a Criminal Defense Attorney
Since California pimping and pandering cases can often be very complex, always refuse to answer any police questions without speaking to a lawyer first. If you have been accused of either of these crimes, please call (760) 643-4050 or (858) 486-3024 to schedule a free consultation with Peter M. Liss.
