Tennessee to Remove Sex Workers With HIV From Sex Offender Registry

A car slows down on Holt Boulevard during a major prostitution sting operation in Pomona, Calif., in this file photo.(David McNew/Getty Images)

The state of Tennessee will remove the names of individuals convicted of prostitution while carrying human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from the sex offender registry after settling lawsuits over the matter.

The settlement agreement, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on July 17, covers separate lawsuits filed by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) alongside the Transgender Law Center.

Under the agreement, Tennessee’s Bureau of Investigation (TBI) must post a notice on the sex offender registration (SOR) information page of the public-facing sex offender registry website explaining that “aggravated prostitution” will be removed from the definition of “violent sexual offense” and “sexual offense” in early July.

Previously under state law, an individual committed aggravated prostitution when, knowing they were infected with HIV, they “engaged in sexual activity as a business or is an inmate in a house of prostitution” or loitered in a public place “for the purpose of being hired to engage in sexual activity.”

However, legislation introduced by Rep. John Ragan of Oak Ridge in 2023 removed aggravated prostitution as a registerable sexual offense and as a registerable violent sexual offense.

Governor Bill Lee signed the measure into law in March.

Within 28 days of the signing of the agreement, the TBI must list individuals on the state’s sex offender registry who were convicted of aggravated prostitution under state law. It must then determine which of them were placed on the register solely because of aggravated prostitution convictions.

ACLU, DOJ Sue Over Tennessee Law

Within 60 days of the agreement being signed, the bureau must send letters telling the individuals that they may be eligible to have their names removed from the registry.

If somebody requests their name be removed from the registry, the bureau must conduct a follow-up check of the person, including a review of their criminal history, and consult with the local registering agency to determine definitively if they can be removed.

The ACLU of Tennessee and the Transgender Law Center filed the lawsuit against Tennessee’s aggravated prostitution law in October 2023, arguing that it discriminates against people living with HIV, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA),

The DOJ sued the state over the law in February 2024 for the same reason, arguing in its lawsuit that its own internal investigation had found Tennessee and the TBI “subject people living with HIV to harsher criminal penalties solely because of their HIV status.”

“Tennessee’s aggravated prostitution statute elevates what would otherwise be misdemeanor conduct to a felony because the individual has HIV, regardless of any actual risk of harm,” the department said.

Convicted Could Face Harassment, DOJ Says

“A person convicted of aggravated prostitution faces three to 15 years in prison and a fine up to $10,000, while a person convicted of a misdemeanor charge based on the same conduct is subject to a penalty of no more than six months in prison and up to a $500 fine,” it added.

The department also said in its lawsuit that people placed on the registry due to convictions for aggravated prostitution faced restrictions on where they could work and live, and had to publicly disclose information about their HIV status, which can lead to harassment and discrimination.

Many have ended up homeless and unemployed, the department said.

HIV targets the immune system, destroying immune cells and weakening the body’s defense against multiple infections, including cancer. The virus can develop into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) if untreated.

There is currently no cure for HIV or AIDS, although medications can help slow the progression of the disease.

An estimated 39 million people were living with HIV at the end of 2022, according to the World Health Organization.

The Epoch Times has contacted Tennessee’s Bureau of Investigation for comment.