There are a host of different types of sex-related crimes. While many of these involve sexual contact, indecent exposure doesn’t have that element. Indecent exposure means that you show your genitals in a manner that would cause others to be alarmed.
Exactly what constitutes one’s genitals is an area of debate for some people. Some think that the female breast should be considered a genital area; however, that isn’t the case. In the eyes of the law, the female breast being shown isn’t usually enough to meet the definition of indecent exposure. If a bare breast could meet that need, women who need to breastfeed a child could possibly face indecent exposure charges.
One element that is usually required for indecent exposure charges is that the exposure is done to alarm others and for sexual gratification. This is often a subjective point, but there are options that you have for fighting this element.
One example would be if you urinate in public. If that occurs in a dark alley at night, chances are pretty good that you just needed to urinate and weren’t worried about sexual gratification. You could argue that point as part of your defense. If you were masturbating in that alley, the same wouldn’t be true.
Determining how you can fight against these charges is crucial. You have to explore what possibilities you have and go from there. When you are doing this, you must scrutinize the case against you and find out what weaknesses exist. You can use those to your advantage to poke holes in the prosecution’s case.
Source: FindLaw, “Indecent Exposure,” accessed Sep. 15, 2016
