[QUOTE=H Mobius]I'm no expert but it's my understanding that it's Your equipment, not that of wherever you are, so your ISP will still identify you if you are using the same phone, laptop, etc. in a different location.[/QUOTE]
It's a bit more complicated than that. The IP address you use is issued by whatever ISP you connect through. When you're at home, it's your ISP. If you go to a wireless hotspot at a coffee shop, then it's their ISP that gives you an address while you're there. If you use Road Runner Mobile, or whatever they call it, in one of their hotspots, then they give you an address. Depending on how things are configured, they may or may not be logging the addresses assigned.
Each network adapter has a what's called a MAC address that normally doesn't change, and ISPs can and do log which IP address is assigned to which MAC address at any given time. BUT...MAC addresses can be changed on certain network cards. MAC addresses can also be "spoofed" so that one computer can appear to the ISP as a different computer. Hackers have gotten extremely clever.
The point of all this is that any logging that LE might obtain from an ISP is only "suggestive" that it might have been you, but not "conclusive." A good lawyer with a good expert witness in the IT field can blow holes in those logs. They'd need a lot more than that to link you back to anything. The logs MIGHT be enough for a search warrant to search your computer though. If you're really paranoid, don't leave any incriminating breadcrumbs on your harddrive.
But, as has been pointed out repeatedly, soliciting a prostitute is only a petty misdemeanor. The detailed forensic investigation required to track you down by IP and MAC address, and the search of your harddrive, would cost far more than LE can justify for such a minor crime. They'd only go to that extreme if they were investigating a major felony and thought you had important information pertinent to the case. For 99% of us, that's not bloody likely! HPD is overworked, and chronically underfunded. They have to prioritize their resources, especially now with this major budget crisis. The state's been wrestling with this budget emergency for a year now. The city is just now starting to feel the hit.
So, caution is called for, but paranoia is not.
CA
