Public Indecency, Yes or No

[dawny0826]

Why do you think there was no harassment? It looks like there probably was.

One, he wasn't arrested for harassment.

Sexual harassment would entail repeated requests - bullying, the offer of money, etc.

 

[LuisDantas]

I was wondering if they did not accuse him of indecency instead as an attempt at easening the pressure. And again, if she felt strongly enough about it to pursue the police, odds are that he was at least insistent.

 

[columbus]

Why do you think there was no harassment? It looks like there probably was.

There is not much info about what happened at all.

Walking up to a mature, imposing woman who is carrying a baseball bat and politely asking for oral sex is one thing that fits what was described.
So would following a barely legal teen sporting wood until she gets scared enough to leave, then saying," Hey baby. You been checking me out. Why don't you suck me real quick?"

Something tells me the latter scenarios is closer to what happened.

Tom

 

[dawny0826]

I was wondering if they did not accuse him of indecency instead as an attempt at easening the pressure. And again, if she felt strongly enough about it to pursue the police, odds are that he was at least insistent.

Maybe? I don't know. I'm just commenting on the few tidbits provided in the OP.

 

[4consideration]

Last night I was watching an episode of Cops wherein a guy was at a public beach and approached a woman and asked her for oral sex. She said no and then called the police. After she explained to them what had happened they arrested the guy for public indecency.

My question: does asking this really amount to public indecency?

If so, why?

If no, why not?

I'm not aware that a question like that would amount to a public indecency charge, as I understand it in general -- unless the guy exposed himself to her, or presented it as a solicitation for sex with an offer of payment. What matters is what the laws in the location consider public indecency, and without knowing where it occurred, we can't look into it, and can only guess.

(I think it's annoying, creepy, and inappropriate to just walk up to someone and do that, with no indication they have any interest at all in you, much less interest in having a sexual interaction.)

If that's really all he did, I don't see why an arrest would be warranted.

But the real kicker here is that he was with his wife---evidently she wasn't nearby when he made his proposition---and when the police explained to her why they were arresting her husband, she was utterly unfazed. No reaction whatsoever.

That makes me wonder. If the guy's wife had no reaction, it makes me wonder if he typically exhibits behavior that she thinks he would get arrested for, and wonder if he has a history of being arrested for matters relating to sex, or solicitation of sex -- or, if she's thinking it's about time it happens.

That does not mean that in this situation it was justified for him to be arrested if all he did was ask a question and move on when he got a negative response, unless his actions fit the definition of public indecency for the location.

 

[Aquitaine]

I suppose the liberty to approach strangers and ask them for sexual favours is important to you (?).

Me? I'm not so fussed, even if the charge was excessive.

 

[dust1n]

Now, that is certainly good advice. No one should, not for a living anyway.

Well, if one hopes to be a defense lawyer, than a dispassionate defense of creeps is going to common place. Many people do this in America, and thanks goodness, lest people be arrested with no defense or knowledge of the judicial system.

 

[Skwim]

Why do you think there was no harassment? It looks like there probably was.

It was a one-time thing. Note that in the definition of harassment one of the qualifying determinants is "systematic and/or continued."

_______________________________

If that's really all he did, I don't see why an arrest would be warranted.

Neither do I.

 

[columbus]

It was a one-time thing. Note that in the definition of harassment one of the qualifying determinants is "systematic and/or continued.

You still have not given the context.

Was his suit around his knees?
Was this the fourth time someone called the cops on him?
Were the police looking for the guy who had raped two women on that beach in the previous week?

Simply propositioning someone on the beach might not be actionable, but it might very well be. It certainly proves that the guy is sexually abnormal.

Tom

 

[Skwim]

You still have not given the context.

Was his suit around his knees?
Was this the fourth time someone called the cops on him?
Were the police looking for the guy who had raped two women on that beach in the previous week?

Simply propositioning someone on the beach might not be actionable, but it might very well be. It certainly proves that the guy is sexually abnormal.

Tom

None of the above were mentioned.

 

[columbus]

None of the above were mentioned.

Was anything, besides what is in your OP?
I fail to understand why you think this is an issue. Without a good deal more information it can't be intelligently discussed.

Without some reason to question it, I am assuming that the cops did the best thing. I wouldn't like getting hit on at a beach, and I don't have the vulnerability of woman. With only what you've posted to go on I don't see your problem.

Tom

 

[Skwim]

Was anything, besides what is in your OP?
I fail to understand why you think this is an issue. Without a good deal more information it can't be intelligently discussed.

Take the incident as I described it: add nothing, subtract nothing. If you can't answer:

does asking this really amount to public indecency?

If so, why?

If no, why not?
​

then have a nice day.

Without some reason to question it, I am assuming that the cops did the best thing.

Why? Are you under the impression that police don't make mistakes?

 

[Shuttlecraft]

She could have said "yes" and bit it off, then thrown it to the seagulls..

 

[columbus]

Take the incident as I described it: add nothing, subtract nothing. If you can't answer:

does asking this really amount to public indecency?

If so, why?

If no, why not?
​

then have a nice day.

Sure, I can answer. Yes, no, and also maybe. Call me nuanced.

Let's start with yes.
I absolutely think what you described was public indecency. I don't like sleaze bags cluttering up public spaces with their trashiness. I care about what they do privately as I am a prude, but not as much. I'll leave consenting adults in private alone for the most part. Make it a public affair and I will have an opinion about what is decent and what is not.
Then there's maybe.
I don't know how the applicable law is written. Perhaps it was written to my satisfaction and perhaps not. This kind of law varies widely from place to place. My opinion isn't what counts. What the police and courts thinks the law is ought to be what matters.

Finally no.
I think people should be free to talk about anything they want to if they are not infringing on anybody else's life. It should not be a crime to converse.

But I don't think this is what happened. Somebody infringed on somebody.

Why? Are you under the impression that police don't make mistakes?

Oh no. But based on your description I don't see any reason to think that they did. The only mistake clearly described in what little you posted was a sleaze bag hitting on a female who not only said "no" but called the cops. That was a serious error in judgement.

Tom

 

[LuisDantas]

It was a one-time thing.

Far as we know. Maybe that is not the whole story.

Note that in the definition of harassment one of the qualifying determinants is "systematic and/or continued."

That is the legal definition, which I care very little about.

_______________________________

Neither do I.

It is all on how much pressure he put, I think, and on what he did exactly. Not necessarily on

 

[Shuttlecraft]

True story:- walking home from the grocers after dark one evening through the local red light area of Leicester (England), a young teenage asian youth said to me- "Hi, do you want me to suck your c***?", and I replied with a smile- "No I'm fine thanks" and carried on walking..

 

[Sunstone]

I don't know the legal definition of "public indecency" but there is certainly nothing decent about walking up to someone and asking for sexual favors. It's definitely sexual harassment, if nothing else. And if the prick does this on a routine basis, he deserves to rot in a jail cell for a while. Among other things.

This. People have a right to appear in public without being sexually propositioned without any other introduction by total strangers. I'd call what he did sexual harassment, though, rather than public indecency. But I'm not a lawyer.

 

[dust1n]

That's absurd.

There should virtually be no illegal questions. I'm having difficulty seeing how any could maintain a semblance of freedom of speech with the notion that anyone who walks up to a stranger and asks "Would you like to blow me?" should be arrested.

Consider the fact that I disagree with Skwim's proposition that someone should be allowed to take pictures of kids bottoms.

Yet somehow, there's a total of four people that think speech should be protected.

 

[Shuttlecraft]

Incidentally I've plastered this pic of where I live all over net forums but people say I shouldn't do it in case a lust-crazed female stalker tracks me down and kidnaps me at gunpoint to keep me chained up in her cellar as her sex slave.
Huh, I should be so lucky..

 

[Sunstone]

I'm having difficulty seeing how any could maintain a semblance of freedom of speech with the notion that anyone who walks up to a stranger and asks "Would you like to blow me?" should be arrested.

Put yourself in the woman's place. I'm all for free speech, but I'm having difficulty seeing how "Do you want to blow me" should be any more protected than yelling fire in a crowded theater.