A. A person is guilty of compounding if he requests, accepts or agrees to accept any pecuniary benefit, or confers or offers or agrees to confer any pecuniary benefit upon another pursuant to an agreement or understanding that the person receiving the pecuniary benefit will refrain from initiating a prosecution for a crime or offense.

B. As used in this section, “pecuniary benefit” means any gain or advantage in the form of money, property, commercial interest or anything else, the primary significance of which is economic gain.

C. In any prosecution for compounding, it is a defense if established by a preponderance of the evidence that the pecuniary benefit did not exceed an amount which the defendant reasonably believed to be due as restitution or indemnification for harm caused by the crime or offense.

D. Compounding is a gross misdemeanor. (Ord. 499 §2 (part), 1978).