Re:'My Airbnb flat was turned into a pop-up brothel'
by dragonwriter on Saturday April 08, 2017 @11:27AM
(#14067369)
> This is a crime?
Yes, most places where either prostitution or brothel-keeping is a crime, the owner of a property used in it is potentially (mental state is an issue) committing a crime as well.
> If a prostitute brings a john back to a hotel room, the police can arrest the hotel owner?
In the US, Aside from that risk (which is real but attenuated by the low probability of a conviction because of the high criminal burden of proof) prostitution-related offenses are second only to drug-related offenses in the eagerness of law enforcement to use civil asset forfeiture against properties, including real property, used in the offense.
For a regular commercial hotel, law enforcement would probably just use the possibility of such action as one among many tools to get the owner to actively cooperate with law enforcement, and it probably wouldn't get to actual seizure in a normal case.
Whether similar technically noncriminal consequences associated with criminal activity apply to this situation (in the UK), I'm not sure, though I wouldn't be surprised.
Yes, most places where either prostitution or brothel-keeping is a crime, the owner of a property used in it is potentially (mental state is an issue) committing a crime as well.
> If a prostitute brings a john back to a hotel room, the police can arrest the hotel owner?
In the US, Aside from that risk (which is real but attenuated by the low probability of a conviction because of the high criminal burden of proof) prostitution-related offenses are second only to drug-related offenses in the eagerness of law enforcement to use civil asset forfeiture against properties, including real property, used in the offense.
For a regular commercial hotel, law enforcement would probably just use the possibility of such action as one among many tools to get the owner to actively cooperate with law enforcement, and it probably wouldn't get to actual seizure in a normal case.
Whether similar technically noncriminal consequences associated with criminal activity apply to this situation (in the UK), I'm not sure, though I wouldn't be surprised.