Vacating a prostitution or solicitation conviction
If you were convicted of prostitution or solicitation to commit a sexual act, "committed as a direct result of being a victim," you may ask the court that has jurisdiction over the offense, by motion, to vacate the conviction and seal or expunge the record of conviction.
The court may grant the motion after a hearing, if it finds that your participation in the offense was a direct result of being a victim.
The presumption that you were a victim
An official determination or documentation from a federal, state, local or tribal agency that you were a victim at the time of the offense creates a presumption that your participation was a direct result of being a victim.
It has to come from an agency — a federal, state, local or tribal law enforcement agency, a prosecutor's office, or a federal immigration agency's determination, for example. If you have any such determination or documentation, it does a lot of the work for you.
How the motion works, and why there is no wait
The motion, the hearing and any relief granted follow Rhode Island's sealing and expungement laws, depending on the relief you ask for. Those laws supply the procedure. They do not add a waiting period: there is none, and you can bring the motion at any time.
Vacatur vs. expungement
An expungement seals a conviction and releases you from its penalties and disabilities. Vacatur addresses the conviction itself. For someone whose offense happened because they were being trafficked, that difference is not merely technical.
This is a motion worth bringing with a lawyer. The finding the court has to make depends on the facts, the presumption has to be set up properly, and the relief on offer is the strongest in the chapter.
The law behind this page
- The motion to vacate a prostitution or solicitation conviction committed as a direct result of being a victim, and the court's finding: R.I. Gen. Laws § 11-67.1-17(a).
- The presumption from an agency's official determination or documentation: § 11-67.1-17(b).
- Procedure under §§ 12-1-12, 12-1-12.1 and 12-1-12.2, or chapter 12-1.3, depending on the relief sought: § 11-67.1-17(c).
