is raping a prostitute the same as shoplifting?
The simple factual answer is, obviously, no. However, since the OP is probably seeking a longer answer than that, I’m going to move this to Great Debates from GQ.
Colibri
General Questions Moderator
Having consensual sex with a prostitute then not paying her is analogous to shoplifting.
Rape is a violent crime and has nothing to do with stealing.
No, it’s the same as raping any person.
Next question.
thank you sir
No, neither legally nor morally. Whether for love, recreation, or financial consideration, every person has the choice as to who they consent to having sex with and who they refuse.
I’m going to buck the trend here and say, “Yes. Legally speaking, raping a prostitute is the same as shoplifting.”
Kidding.
I just wanted to see what would happen.
Can you present your reasoning for asking the question?
um. well someone asked me it as a joke…and i thought I would share it…
It would be closer to robbery or mugging than shoplifting if you insisted on a financial analogy. It’s worse of course because bodies are more intimate than possessions. Somewhere between mugging someone for their artificial leg and mugging them to steal their testicles I guess.
CookingWithGas is right I think, the analogous crime to shoplifting would be having sex with her and then refusing to pay.
Did you punch him? Because vandalism is a crime, you know.
Um…did this person rape you?
And did you find this “joke” amusing?
For the sake of the argument, to be perfectly cold hearted and legalistic about it for a moment (and I’m not suggesting that is an acceptable thing to do generally) I disagree.
Consensual sex with a prostitute then not paying is the equivalent of having a shop deliver an item then not paying their invoice. Shoplifting seems to me to be defined by taking something that is put out for sale without the seller’s knowledge.
A close analogy would be drugging a prostitute and raping them while they are unconscious such that they only realise they have been raped after the fact.
In areas where prostitution is legal, wouldn’t obtaining the services of a prostitute and then failing to pay the fee constitute theft of services?
And rape, of course, is rape.
Sounds like whoever the OP spoke to just did a poor job retelling a joke from one of George Carlin’s books:
Actually I think it would be more akin to fraud. Somewhat like defrauding an innkeeper by staying in a room and then skipping out on the bill. Shoplifting is usually covert, with the goal being to abscond with the goods without having been detected.
ETA: Or what Princhester said. :smack:
Yep. Or like eating in a restaurant and then skipping without paying the check.
You have contracted for a service, then after receiving the service, you refuse to pay the bill. Theft of services.
You know, from a legal standpoint this raises an interesting question. IIRC, a person cannot be legally bound to honor the terms of a contract pertaining to illegal activity. So from a legal standpoint (and assuming we’re not talking about areas of Nevada where prostitution is legal), if a person were to have consensual sex with a prostitute and then refuse to pay, would that refusal be illegal?
Maybe, but the soliciting certainly would be, whether he paid or not.