Study found 80 of 81 people charged with current misdemeanor offense since 2022 have not reoffended and prosecutions disproportionately impact men of Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

SEATTLE – Recent episodes of gun violence around Aurora Avenue North have reignited debates over how Seattle and King County should respond to street-level purchases of sex in the area (termed “sexual exploitation” in City code and “patronizing a prostitute” in state law). Some have even argued that making the purchase of sex a felony would remediate the violence by deterring people from seeking to purchase sex in the area and therefore suppress demand for sex workers’ services.

Policy analysts at the King County Department of Public Defense (DPD) reviewed every prosecution for sexual exploitation in Seattle Municipal Court (SMC) between 2022-2025. DPD found only 1 person who was charged with sexual exploitation after their first misdemeanor prosecution for that offense, and that individual had competency raised[1] in their first case. The other 80 of the 81 people prosecuted have not received a subsequent sexual exploitation charge, evidence that felonies for these individuals are not necessary to deter repeat offending. Other notable findings from the report include:

• 74 of the 78 resolved cases resulted in dismissal;
• 53% of individuals prosecuted required an interpreter;
• 44% of cases indicated Hispanic or Latino ethnicity in court records; and
• 0 of 59 individuals prosecuted before the SOAP ordinance took effect were subsequently charged with sexual exploitation.

King County Public Defender Matt Sanders issued the following statement about the proposal to address public safety around Aurora Avenue North by making sexual exploitation a felony:

“This proposal would disproportionately harm communities of color without improving public safety. If Seattle wants to reduce harm along Aurora, city leaders should invest in strategies grounded in evidence. DPD analyzed every case filed from 2022 through 2025, and the evidence shows that the current misdemeanor and diversion-based response is associated with effectively zero re-offenses. As city leaders consider how to reduce harm along Aurora, Seattle residents deserve more than a felony proposal that creates the appearance of meaningful action without delivering meaningful public-safety results.”

DPD represents indigent people charged with misdemeanors in Seattle Municipal Court, including those prosecuted for sexual exploitation.

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[1] When competency is raised in a criminal case, it indicates that the defendant may not be capable of understanding the legal proceedings against them. In the context of evaluating the current law’s sufficiency in deterring repeat offending, the severity of potential punishment is irrelevant if the individual cannot understand the nature of their first prosecution.