Panel votes on indoor prostitution

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A House committee has approved a bill to make indoor prostitution illegal in Rhode Island.

A loophole in state law permits prostitution as long as it takes place behind closed doors. Police say some businesses that advertise as spas are actually brothels, where sex is exchanged for money.

The House Judiciary Committee voted 8-4 on Thursday to close the loophole and criminalize indoor prostitution.

A full House vote could take place next week.

Civil liberty groups have opposed efforts to close the loophole,
and advocates against human trafficking say the bill will target prostitutes instead of those who hold them captive.

But police say the bill is needed to crack down on indoor prostitution since current state law only prohibits streetwalkers and soliciting sex outside.