Arthur Joseph Rouse

Questions raised in a felony case against a Michigan auto shop owner have drawn attention to a state law that, prior to last year, only allowed prostitution and pandering charges to apply when women came forward as victims.

The case involving Arthur Rouse, 55, moved closer to a trial in Traverse City, Michigan this week after three men testified about staying at his business in return for performing sexual acts on Rouse and each other in exchange for money, food and other items.

Those accusations formed the basis of a criminal case against Rouse, but a June court hearing raised questions about the charge.

That’s because the men testified that Rouse’s behavior began before October 2014, when state legislators changed the prostitution or pandering charge to include men. Before then, the charge only applied to inducing a woman to prostitution.

“None of the charges with males will hold up,” Grand Traverse County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Noelle Moeggenberg told the Traverse City (Michigan) Record-Eagle.

Michigan’s law, before it was updated, was apparently unique, according to legal advocates who work with sexual assault victims.

“I’ve never encountered a statute that references only one gender,” said Lynn Johnson, policy director with the Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation. “Somebody who exploits and profits off the prostitution of another person should be held accountable regardless (of gender). The crime is about power; it’s about exploiting another human being and selling them for sex.”

Elizabeth Campbell, a clinical assistant professor of law at the Human Trafficking Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School, said such laws were initially developed to protect women from various forms of sexual activity and evolved over time.

“It takes time for the law to catch up with how society’s values have changed,” she said.

Rouse could still face trial, however, after two women testified he paid them money for sex. In one case, a woman claimed Rouse brought her to his shop to keep the men staying there occupied sexually.

That prompted Judge Michael Stepka to bind Rouse’s case over to 13th Circuit Court for trial on one count of prostitution or pandering and being a habitual offender.

Rouse’s attorney James Hunt declined to comment.

Moeggenberg said the three men’s testimony could still be important in trial. She plans to argue their accusations should be admitted as trial evidence of bad behavior that didn’t necessarily rise to a criminal level.

The Traverse City (Mich.) Record-Eagle contributed to this story.