Indecent exposure and public lewdness are often confused. While public lewdness involves sexual contact between two people who are reckless about others being offended (think: extreme dirty dancing), indecent exposure involves an individual actor:
A person commits an offense if he exposes his anus or any part of his genitals with intent to arouse or gratify the sexual desire of any person, and he is reckless about whether another is present who will be offended or alarmed by his act.
Indecent exposure is often treated more seriously by prosecutors and treatment providers than public lewdness because most acts of public lewdness involve high school kids who need a cold shower. There is a perceived predatory aspect of indecent exposure because it often involves an unwilling recipient. It is also considered a red flag for possibly other antisocial sexual behavior.
The most serious repercussion to an indecent exposure arrest is that a second offense subjects one to sex offender registration for ten years following the completion of a probation or jail sentence. Furthermore, if the exposure happens while a child is present the punishment escalates to a third degree felony.
The defense issues we have encountered range from a trial in which two bank tellers testified that “they thought it looked like” our client had his pants pulled down (the jury found our client Not Guilty (in Williamson County, no less)) to drunken pranks that were immature but totally removed from any inkling of sexual gratification. |
