Massachusetts General Laws

Mass. Gen. Laws ch. 272, § 7 (2026)

Support from, or sharing, earnings of prostitute

✓ current as of July 2026

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Section 7. Whoever, knowing a person to be a prostitute, shall live or derive support or maintenance, in whole or in part, from the earnings or proceeds of his prostitution, from moneys loaned, advanced to or charged against him by any keeper or manager or inmate of a house or other place where prostitution is practiced or allowed, or shall share in such earnings, proceeds or moneys, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for a period of five years and by a fine of five thousand dollars.

The sentence of imprisonment imposed under this section shall not be reduced to less than two years, nor suspended, nor shall any person convicted under this section be eligible for probation, parole, or furlough or receive any deduction from his sentence for good conduct or otherwise until he shall have served two years of such sentence. Prosecutions commenced under this section shall not be continued without a finding nor placed on file.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 35 cases (8 in the last 5 years), 1977–2026 · leading case: Commonwealth v. Graham, 445 N.E.2d 1043 (Mass. 1983).

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Commonwealth v. Graham, 445 N.E.2d 1043 (Mass. 1983). · cites it 27× “G.L.c. 272, § 7. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on January 28, 1982, alleging in part that, because he had already been tried by the Municipal Court of the City of Boston for the same offense, the prohibition against double jeopardy bars any further…”

Commonwealth v. Brown, 112 N.E.3d 264 (Mass. 2018). · cites it 38× “1 Historically, "pimps or purveyors" have been understood to be the objects of this prohibition, although no definition of either "pimp" or "purveyor" has ever appeared in the statutory text, currently codified at G. L. c. 272, § 7. 2 Claiming that, without further…”

Commonwealth v. Lightfoot, 463 N.E.2d 545 (Mass. 1984). · cites it 17× “A grand jury indicted the defendant, Gregory Lightfoot, for deriving support and maintenance from and sharing in the earnings and proceeds of a female prostitute, in violation of G. L. c. 272, § 7, as amended through St.”

Commonwealth v. McGhee, 35 N.E.3d 329 (Mass. 2015). · cites it 11× “265, § 50, and two counts of deriving support from the earnings of a prostitute, G. L. c. 272, § 7. The charges arose from allegations by three women (C.”

Commonwealth v. Purdy, 945 N.E.2d 372 (Mass. 2011). · cites it 3× “The defendant was convicted of deriving support from the earnings of a prostitute, in violation of G. L. c. 272, § 7, and maintaining a house of prostitution, in violation of G.”

Commonwealth v. Dabney, 90 N.E.3d 750 (Mass. 2018). · cites it 2× “265, § 50 ( a ), and deriving support from prostitution, in violation of G. L. c. 272, § 7, for the period from September 1 to December 14, 2014.”

Commonwealth v. Matos, 941 N.E.2d 645 (Mass. App. Ct. 2011). · cites it 3× “” The defendant also was convicted of deriving support from the earnings or proceeds of a prostitute, G. L. c. 272, § 7, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, G.”

Commonwealth v. Jones, 117 N.E.3d 702 (Mass. 2019). “265, § 50 ( a ), and deriving support from the earnings of a prostitute, G. L. c. 272, § 7. At the time of his arrest, the Commonwealth seized a cell phone from the defendant.”

Commonwealth v. Stephens, 446 N.E.2d 410 (Mass. App. Ct. 1983). · cites it 2× “Those who join fully in this opinion conclude, nevertheless, that in trials for this offense (G.L.c. 272, § 7) held hereafter where the defendant is of one race and the victim is of another, and there is an expectation that evidence of violence or a threat of violence will be…”

Commonwealth v. Rodriguez, 122 N.E.3d 1066 (Mass. 2019). · cites it 3× “" The second provision set out a significantly shorter sentence that also appeared to be a mandatory minimum: "[t]he sentence of imprisonment imposed under this section shall not be reduced to less than two years, nor suspended, nor shall any person convicted under this section…”

Commonwealth v. Graham, 388 Mass. 115 (Mass. 1983). · cites it 28× “G. L. c. 272, § 7. The defendant filed a motion to dismiss the indictment on January 28, 1982, alleging in part that, because he had already been tried by the Municipal Court of the City of Boston for the same offense, the prohibition against double jeopardy bars any further…”

Commonwealth v. Berte, 781 N.E.2d 14 (Mass. App. Ct. 2003). “718, 721 (1984), the court, interpreting G. L. c. 272, § 7, explained that in the absence of the word “mandatory,” a statutory imperative that the judge “ ‘shall’ impose a five-year sentence” does not preclude judicial discretion in sentencing.”

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