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Senate adopts amendment to toughen penalties for purchasers of sex; protections for trafficking victims preserved
Summary
Senate adopted Amendment 1A to S.235, keeping current penalties for people engaged in prostitution while increasing penalties for purchasers, including a felony on a third offense, and adding affirmative defenses for trafficking victims and immunity for minors.
The Senate adopted Amendment 1A to S.235 to change penalty structures tied to prostitution and solicitation, tightening penalties for people who purchase sexual services while preserving the current, graduated misdemeanor schedule for people engaged in prostitution and adding protections for trafficking victims and minors.
Senator Kimbrell, the floor sponsor, said the amendment returns the penalties for people charged with prostitution to the existing graduated misdemeanor schedule but escalates penalties for purchasers. Under the amendment, solicitation by a purchaser remains a misdemeanor for the first two offenses and becomes a felony on a third offense, Kimbrell said.
Kimbrell explained the amendment also preserves an affirmative defense and immunity provisions for victims of trafficking and minors coerced into prostitution, aligning those protections with existing South Carolina law referenced in the floor remarks (16‑15‑20).
On the floor, Kimbrell cited data he described as “staggering,” saying roughly 15,000 incidents occur in York County, about 7,000 in Spartanburg and 7,000–8,000 in Greenville; he warned neighboring North Carolina’s planned enforcement changes could drive additional cross‑border activity. Kimbrell said the amendment aims to reduce demand by imposing progressively severe penalties on repeat purchasers.
The chamber adopted Amendment 1A by voice vote. The Senate then moved to table the committee amendment (which the sponsor said amendment 1A superseded); the motion to table was approved. The sponsor moved second reading, and the bill received a second reading with the appropriate vote to advance under Senate rules.
The measure’s floor discussion focused on penalty structure, victim protections and alignment with neighboring states. The amendment’s adoption marks a substantive rewrite of the bill’s penalties as it proceeds through the legislative process.
