A court in Qionglai, Sichuan Province recently sentenced two men who solicited sex with minors to five years in prison for the crime of rape. Legal experts said the successful prosecution on rape charges showed that a separate charge for the solicitation of underage prostitutes is no longer necessary.

The two offenders, both surnamed Yang and in their 40s, were charged for having sex with a 13-year-old girl, Xiaolan (pseudonym), in July 2013. Each offender paid her 800 yuan ($127), the Chengdu Economic Daily reported on Tuesday, citing sources in the court.

The offenders were arrested in 2013 for allegedly soliciting underage prostitutes, on the grounds that they had paid the girl. But the prosecutor later decided to prosecute them for rape, the first such case of its kind in China.

The court identified the offenders as rapists, saying they had sex with Xiaolan with the clear knowledge that she was a minor, the newspaper reported.

The crime of soliciting prostitutes under the age of 14, which was written into China's criminal code in 1997, can carry a sentence of five to 15 years in jail. However, the law also stipulates that having sex with girls under 14, whether forcibly or not, is considered rape, and can carry a sentence ranging from three years in prison to death.

"The case shows the progress in protecting children's rights, as courts tend to hand down harsher punishments for rape sentences," said Wan Daqiang, a Beijing-based lawyer specializing in child protection.

Wan told the Global Times that the court used to separate the two crimes based on whether the minors had received money from offenders.

The Supreme People's Procuratorate noted in May 2014 that 225 offenders were accused of having sex with prostitutes under 14 between 2010 and 2013.

Wan urged the abolishment of the crime, saying that it damages underage victims' futures by labeling them "prostitutes."

"In practice, the existence of the crime helped some offenders escape harsher punishment and avoid rape charges by arguing that the minors had consented," said Wan.

Qu Xinjiu, a criminal law professor with the China University of Political Science and Law, told the Global Times that a possible amendment to the law might help to clarify confusion caused by overlap between the two crimes.

China's top legislature has been investigating public calls to repeal the crime of sex with underage prostitutes and identifying the offense as rape, Zang Tiewei, an official with the Commission for Legislative Affairs of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said in March 2014. However, Zang said that there is no timetable for an amendment.

The Supreme People's Court also said that it would like to get involved in urging legislators to abolish the crime in December 2013.