State urges appeals court to reclassify patronizing-prostitution charge as felony; defense says plea relied on misdemeanor limitation

At an appellate oral argument, Alan Groves, counsel for the state, told the court the trial court wrongly treated patronizing prostitution from a law-enforcement officer posing as a minor as a class A misdemeanor rather than a felony. "This is a straightforward sentencing case," Groves said, arguing the statute's text and structure incorporate the trafficking statute and therefore impose felony grading.

Groves asked the court to reverse the trial court's judgment and remand for resentencing, citing the statutory provision (39-13-5-14, subsection b(3)(a)) and the trafficking statute the provision references (39-13-3-09). He told the panel the statute's history supports that reading: a 2011 enhancement provision set prior aggravated versions as felonies, a 2014 amendment changed the language to "is punishable as" trafficking, a 2019 provision clarified that an officer posing as a minor can constitute patronizing…