Can the police use a prostitute’s phone to pose as her and arrest clients?
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Can the police use a prostitute’s phone to pose as her and arrest clients?
I work as an escort. Recently a friend of mine was arrested for prostitution. Her phone was taken from her during the arrest. The police posed as her and used it to contact all of her clients via text. When they arrived they were arrested also. Is there any sort of law keeping them from doing this? The phone was her property I just can’t see how they would be legally able to perform a sting operation with it. Is there anything she can do?
Asked on January 2, 2012 under Criminal Law, Indiana
Answers:
FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 12 years ago | Contributor
Law enforcement can use a confiscated cell phone resulting from an arrest of your friend for prostitution to make further contact with her "clients" as part of the investigation process of the crime and to make further arrests.
The cell phone was the "fruit" of the arrest and could be used to make further arrests. The "clients' of your friend have no justifiable expectation that the person who was texting them post your friend's arrest was not law enforcement.
The "clients" simply could have ignored the mesages and not gotten arrested. I suggest that your friend who was arrested for prostitution contact a criminal defense attorney to assist her with the pending charges against her.
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