Dude, your first post said you were busted for loitering WITH the INTENT of committing a LEWD ACT.
That's a different charge from what you said in your second post, that you were busted ONLY for loitering.
You certainly have a copy of the paperwork -- what does it say?
If it is loitering only -- relax. This is a bullshit charge that will probably get dropped IF you have a good attorney.
If it is loitering with the intent to commit a lewd act -- the DA may want to see it through. I am sure this is also a misdemeanor charge that will be bargained down before it is all said and done.
This is almost certainly NOT going to go to trial -- at least not if you have a GOOD attorney (there's that advice again). No judge wants to waste time and money on an actual trial for a loitering charge, even a loitering charge with intent for lewd conduct.
GENERALLY speaking, the process is:
Your attorney talks with you, then he talks with the DA. The DA acts like an asshole and tries to pressure your attorney to make you plead guilty. Your attorney refuses. This leaves the DA with the option of going to trial. He won't want to do that in most cases. Eventually he'll strike a bargain with YOUR attorney. The two of them will talk to the judge and arrange a deal of some sort before you have to appear the final time.
The deal usually works along these lines: the judge doesn't want to waste time and fill up his docket. He'll determine what he thinks is fair for you. A fine, community service, maybe nothing at all but a verbal lashing in open court to embarrass you. You may be asked to plead guilty to a lesser charge. You may not be asked to plead guilty -- you may simply have a closed record and walk out of there with a warning. Possibly the "intent for lewd conduct" part will be dropped but the loitering charge will stick. Jail time for loitering or even loitering with the intent for lewd conduct is almost unheard of, especially with a first offense. If anything, most likely you are looking at a fine here. If your lawyer is very good, he may get the whole thing dismissed entirely -- but you can't count on that.
With a clean record, your attorney can argue that you are an upstanding citizen who made a mistake. The judge will probably make you TELL HIM in open court that you won't do it again. The judge may decide to NOT give you a record of conviction. In the future, should you apply for jobs, you will not have to list this offense on your application if you have no record.
GET THAT ATTORNEY and ask him ALL the questions you desire. That's what you are paying him for.
Odds are in your favor that you'll get through this OK. I know it is hard not to worry and feel anxious and miserable. Just give it time and see what your attorney says. He should be telling you what the DA has said in response to his suggestions and requests.
I can't think of an "alternate" program that any state provides for loitering offenses! Even with the "lewd conduct" bit, it's likely they wouldn't send you to a sex offender program (though some states are getting ridiculous, so... you never know).
Your ATTORNEY (gosh, you have to have one of those) will tell you if an alternative is offered and he will also tell you if he feels it is wise for you to accept that offer.
The first goal here is to avoid jail time -- that should be no problem. The next goal is to walk away with your clean record intact. That is POSSIBLE, too. Don't expect to NOT have to pay a price AT ALL. At a minimum, you'll probably have to stand in court in front of the judge and a courtroom full of spectators and lawyers and other defendants -- and have your charges read aloud, then have the judge make you feel REALLY awful for what you did. But if that's ALL that happens, consider yourself lucky. You are humiliated in public, but you'll never see these people again. When you walk out, it's over and that's that.
IF you have a good lawyer, of course.
Good luck.
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