Spring Break
Indecent Exposure
Why late night mistakes - and ignorance of public sex laws - are getting scores of students in legal trouble
Jessie WhitfieldIssue date: 1/24/08 Section: News
|
But unless you have a few hundred bucks to spare and about 10 or so hours of free time to dedicate to community service, you might want to avoid the urge to pee in public - after a night at the bars, during a parking lot tailgate or during a long walk home from a party.
I didn't. And I got caught by the cops.
Turns out I'm not alone.
Police say college students are surprisingly unaware of the laws governing public and sexual indecency, and at a high price, too. Acts that might seem harmless at the time - hooking up in a bar, for example - can lead to arrest and sexual offense charges.
"Public sexual indecency, which consists of any sexual conduct: oral, intercourse, sexual contact (a male touching female's breasts, genitalia or areola or female touching male's genitals) is the most common sexual offense among consenting college-aged persons," said Brandon Banks, a spokesman for the Tempe police. "People are usually caught and charged while in cars, alleys, parking garages, parks, bars and bathrooms."
The maximum penalty if convicted on public sexual indecency charges? Up to six months in jail and a $2,500 fine.
And if one of the people caught is under 18, the charges could be more severe and include mandatory jail time for the legal adult.
In fact, in Arizona, engaging in sex with anyone under the age of 18 whom you're more than two years older than - say you're 20 and he or she is 17 - is illegal.
Except in specific circumstances, no one under the age of 18 can legally consent to sex in Arizona. Neither can any person who is impaired to the slightest degree.
That means that drunk girl - or guy - you met at the bar can't legally consent to that late night hookup.
"How drunk is too drunk? There is no specific limit like with a DUI, it's a big grey area," said ASU police spokesman Jim Hardina. "If you don't already have predetermined (sober) consent, don't have the first time you have sex with her be while she's drinking."
PUNK IN DRUBLIC
My experience with the Valley's indecency laws came about after a night of drinking.
The bars had let out and as my friends and I stumbled the streets of Mill Avenue in search of the parking garage where we parked, my bladder began to feel like it was about to explode.
Once we reached our car underground, I decided it was now or never, do or die and so I popped a squat. Out of nowhere, a motorcycle cop appeared, catching me with my pants around my ankles, crouching, pissing my name in the pavement (if only I were that skilled).
Be the first to comment on this story