An indecent exposure conviction can have serious criminal and civil consequences. You could be sentenced to jail time, sex offender treatment, and other serious restrictions on your liberties. And because indecent exposure is viewed as a sex crime, a conviction can cause great difficulty in finding employment and getting housing. If the alleged exposure was in the presence of minor under 16 years of age then you will be charged with lewd and lascivious exhibition and subjected to 15 years in prison.
If you are facing either an indecent exposure or lewd and lascivious exhibition charge it is important that you have an attorney with an established history of defending against sex crime charges. Jeff Dean has that history with 20 years of experience handling sex crime cases. He has won numerous DISMISSALS in cases involving indecent exposure, lewd conduct, exposure in the presence of a minor, and solicitations for sex in a public place. Time and time again Mr. Dean has saved people from the consequences of a sex crime conviction and he has repeatedly saved immigrants facing these charges from being deported.
For your particular case, Mr. Dean will identify the best defense strategy and he will fight to win. The law presumes your innocence. Simply because you have been charged with indecent exposure or lewd and lascivious exhibition does not mean you are guilty.
To protect your rights, call Jeff Dean today at (305) 967-6311 or (954) 204-3633.
Indecent Exposure Defenses in South Florida
Florida Statute § 800.03 makes it the crime of indecent exposure for a person to exhibit or expose his or her sexual organs in public, or on the private premises of another, or so near thereto so as to be seen from those private premises, in an indecent or vulgar manner, or to be naked in public except in any place set apart for that purpose.
For a person to be convicted of indecent exposure, the state must prove each of the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
- The person exhibited or exposed his or her sexual organs or was naked;
- The person was naked, or the exposure occurred, in a public place, or on the private premises of another, or so near to those private premises as to be seen therefrom;
- The person intended the exhibition or exposure or nakedness to be in a lewd, lascivious, vulgar or indecent manner.
In your case, you are not guilty if the state cannot prove any of these three elements beyond a reasonable doubt. Many cases will turn on the issue of intent. Proof of mere nudity or exposure is not sufficient to sustain a conviction. Rather, the state must prove that you intended for the conduct to be lewd, lascivious, vulgar or indecent. If you did not have this intent you are innocent.
Other possible defenses are that the exposure did not occur in a truly public place or that it could not reasonably be viewed from the private premises of another.
Indecent Exposure Penalties in Miami, Fort Lauderdale and beyond
Indecent exposure is a first-degree misdemeanor which is punishable by up to one year in jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000.
Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition Defenses and Penalties
Indecent exposure becomes a felony if it happens in the presence of a person less than 16 years of age. In these cases, the crime becomes lewd or lascivious exhibition.
Lewd or lascivious exhibition in the presence of a child less than 16 years old is prohibited under Florida Statute § 800.04(7). The statute makes it a crime for the alleged offender to do any of the following acts in the presence of a person less than 16 years of age:
- Intentionally masturbate;
- Intentionally expose his or her genitals in a lewd or lascivious manner; or
- Intentionally commit any other sexual act that does not involve actual physical or sexual contact with the alleged victim, including, but not limited to, sadomasochistic abuse, sexual bestiality, or the simulation of any act involving sexual activity.
Lewd or lascivious exhibition in the presence of a person less than 16 years of age by an alleged offender less than 18 years old is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison and/or a fine of up to $5,000. If the accused is 18 years of age or older and commits lewd or lascivious exhibition in the presence of a child less than 16 years old, the crime is a second-degree felony offense punishable by up to 15 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $10,000.
Possible defenses in a Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition case are that the accused did not have the intent to expose his or her genitals in a lewd or lascivious manner. This is very important as the state must prove beyond a reasonable doubt that you intended for the conduct to be lewd or lascivious. If the state cannot prove this then you are not guilty.
If you have been charged with Indecent Exposure or Lewd or Lascivious Exhibition, call highly experienced Fort Lauderdale and Miami indecent exposure defense attorney Jeff Dean today: (305) 967-6311 or (954) 204-3633.
