Moses Formally Charged With Soliciting an Act of Prostitution

The Los Angeles city attorney’s office Friday formally charged two-time Olympic gold medalist Edwin Moses with soliciting an act of prostitution.

Moses, 29, of Laguna Hills, was arrested early last Sunday near Sunset Boulevard and Genesee Avenue in Hollywood after, police said, he solicited sex from a female undercover vice officer.

Although police found marijuana in Moses’ 1983 Mercedes-Benz, the city attorney’s office did not file drug possession charges against the athlete because the quantity involved was very small, said Michael R. Wilkinson, spokesman for City Atty. Gary Netzer.

If convicted of the misdemeanor solicitation offense, Moses faces a maximum penalty of six months in Los Angeles County Jail and a $1,000 fine. He is to be arraigned Jan. 29 in Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Deputy City Atty. Alan Dahle said earlier in the week that first-time offenders such as Moses usually are given a small fine and probation.

Defense attorneys will go before municipal court Tuesday to ask for the earliest possible trial date, Gordon Baskin, Moses’ contract negotiator and Malibu businessman, said.

Earlier this week, an attorney for Moses said he believed the star hurdler had no intention of having sex with a prostitute and that Moses had been entrapped by police.

The city attorney’s office Friday refused to release the official police account of Moses’ arrest or to discuss the circumstances that led to it. Police reports are not considered public records, Wilkinson said. He added, however, “This case has been very carefully considered, along with the other cases. We think we have a strong case. If he (Moses) pleads not guilty, and it goes to court, it will all come out in the trial.”

Authorities said 33 other men also were arrested for soliciting acts of prostitution during the night-long crackdown by Los Angeles police. Thirty of the 34, included Moses, were formally charged Friday, Wilkinson said. The city attorney’s office rejected one case and asked police to further investigate three others.

Typically, Wilkinson said, undercover vice officers posing as prostitutes are equipped with concealed radio transmitters that relay their conversations with suspects to a nearby listening post. There, Wilkinson explained, other police officers write down what is said. Those transcriptions are later evaluated to determine if there is a legal basis for pressing charges, Wilkinson said.

Baskin said earlier this week that Moses, who was in Los Angeles for a meeting of the United States Olympic Committee’s Athletes Advisory Council, was returning to a hotel near Los Angeles International Airport from a Hollywood nightclub when he was arrested.

Baskin said Moses’ car was idling at a stop sign when a woman, an undercover police officer, approached. After a brief conversation, Moses drove off, then was arrested less than two blocks away, Baskin said. Baskin said Moses had engaged in the conversation in jest.

However, Cmdr. William Booth of the Los Angeles Police Department said that the department has specific policies that prohibit undercover officers from acting suggestively, waving at potential suspects or initiating conversations.

Baskin said Friday that Moses had taken a series of lie detector tests from a specialist, and reiterated that the athlete had done nothing wrong.

“We’re fully confident he will be completely vindicated,” Baskin said. “Edwin Moses’ character has been the same for years. He hasn’t changed recently. His record speaks for itself.”

Moses will appear at the Super Bowl Sunday to accept an award from ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” as the Sportsman of the Year for 1984.