Man Arrested for Being Naked in His Own Kitchen

Springfield, Virginia resident Eric Williamson was arrested and charged with indecent exposure yesterday for failing to put on any clothes after getting up at 5:30 am to make some coffee. A woman and her 7-year-old daughter had cut across Williamson's front yard and saw him through his kitchen window.

If convicted, Williamson could be fined $2,000 and spend a year in jail.

Fairfax police say Williamson wanted to be seen naked. Which I guess means Williamson's front yard is a pretty popular spot at 5:30 in the morning.

Comments

[Xeones]

The woman and her kid were cutting across his front yard? I suppose if they broke into his house to use his bathroom and he had just gotten out of the shower, it'd be ok to charge him then too?

Goddamn motherfuck, Radley, way to top that cockpunch from Doherty earlier.

[this]

that is such a great idea. i am now going to be taking my 6 year old brother to break into people's houses

[He's shady]

This guy lives down the street from me. The trail goes along the side of his house, where the kitchen window is. It's a path many kids take to the elementary school. There were some media outside the house today, which is how we found out about the story. It wasn't 530,it was 830. He's been kicked out of the house because this is the least of his issues.

[Beezard]

Then perhaps he can be charged under some new "anti-shady" legislation that allows the opinions of neighbors to empower officers to forgo basic facts such as : HE WAS IN HIS OWN HOUSE.

[Not the Facts]

The woman told police it was 8:40 a.m. when she was walking her son to school along a path between houses. She said they first spotted Williamson naked in an open door in the car port of his home.

[duke]

When you say path, is this an actual right of way, or a route through poeples private property that the kids use? It makes a difference. I don;t think it is a big deal for kids to cut through yards, but that does not mean they then have the right to complain about what they see along the way.

[fletchbubba]

If you knew the whole story on this guy then you would have a different opinion. He is over $20,000.00 in arrears on his child support, he never even saw his daughter for 3 years, everything he does with his daughter is dangerous, and he only cares about himself and what he can dig from everyone and everything else for nothing. The fact that it was at 8:40 a.m. instead of 5:30 a.m. says a lot. With kids any where near his house he is a total idiot to think that they would not see him on their way to school.

[Deal with it!]

It does not matter, if the guy is in his home, and the path is not a city right of way, he can do what he wants. Private property has been a staple in this country. So he is a dead beat dad, o'well has nothing to do with weather some mom and kid are looking in someone elses window. Hell, whats next, I take off my shirt when I am working in the yard so I get a year in jail for showing my man boobs? The people in this neighborhood need to get some lovin and stay away from the others houses. Stay the fuck out of my yard and the makeshift path, or the cops will reallllyyy need to be called!

[Time does make a difference]

Doesn't school start at 8:30 or earlier? Why are these kids so late to school and why is the mother WALKING her already late child to school. She is the wife of a cop(Special status under the law), had a kid(Great alibi for a forty-five year old to look at a younger man she has the wet knickers for), and was cutting through his yard(Trespassing).

[mattt]

There is no defense for this arrest. He was in his own home. If they were cutting accross the property then they were tresspassing. Maybe people should stop looking in other peoples windows into their private areas.

[People in Glass houses]

have no expectation of privacy. If you stand in front of a glass window naked when the kids are standing at the school bus stop the Law is VERY clear. You have no reasonable expectation of privacy and you should and will be arrested. Use your heads. Being on your own property does not allow you to do whatever you want. Don't be foolish.

[Private Property]

IT WAS HIS OWN HOUSE! There's nothing wrong with being naked in your own house. That's like telling me I can't eat meat because Vegans walk past my house in the morning and they might get offended. The man has a right to be naked on his own property, especially in his house.

[nudity is good]

public nudity shouldn't be illegal to begin with. terrible infringement on liberty by the repressed and uptight.

[snowflake]

go to hell you fucking piece of shit.

[jw]

You're an idiot! If he was having sex of doing something lude then I could understand your argument but when did naked become pornographic or an issue. Naked is naked, nothing bad or good about it, just naked. Get over your own issues with nudity. Why's this lady in his lawn? Why's she looking inside his house? If it were a naked woman and a guy looked in and saw her, the guy would be getting arrested as a peeping tom...deny it all you want, but that IS how that scenario would play out. Grow up and act mature, it's just nudity! We all come into this world nude so it must not be that big of a deal!

[steve71j]

I agree with you.Idiots like this one get our libertys taken away or force them into the dark.He was said to be standing in the garage door area,naked and kids were walking to school. Not good no matter who you are.

[hobo]

fucking bullshit they cant arrest you for being naked at 5;30am while hes geting a cup of coffee,fucking goverment now will tell us when we can shit and piss,and say no more passing gas in your own house! just fucking gay,yes i said gay like 2 gay guys sucking cock,now go arrest faggots!

[Andrew]

will he be on the sex offender registry as well?

[Todd]

Where I live in CO indecent exposure can be a sex crime. We traditionally have a few naked events in town every year and the police have effectively ended them by threatening participants with being charged with a sex crime.

[Damian]

It's ridiculous to charge someone with a sex crime for being naked. You deserve a boot to the face. Thus always to tyrants.

[Markus]

How frightening, nakes events, uhhhh, disgusting. You may get a heartattack when visitng a European beach with people being NAKED. how shocking hahahahahaha. What about collecting all the f@#$% guns

[S.A.]

Is this a 'Reverse Peeping Tom'?

Wait around naked in your house, hoping someone will look in your windows?

[Earl]

No this would be a new method of flashing.

[melodyshot]

yeah, us americans always find a way to revolutionize things
melodyshot

[Ballz]

BWAAHHHHAHAHAH. Ya, us Americans can go streaking in our own houses and still be arrested! The only question is how did the lady prove he was naked at that time?

[Ska]

Kudos to you Springfield. The scourge of people being naked in their own home must be stopped.

What the fuck. I was pissed that Monday was such a slow day. Today seems to be filled with infuriating and depressing stories.

[Thomas]

I really need to start being more careful; I cook naked all the time. My landlady has already seen my junk while she was pulling weeds by my window one day. Fortunately, she didn't call the cops, but now she hangs around outside my apartment all the time.

[sage]

I cook naked all the time

Do you have a garbage disposal in your shower drain?

[Mango Punch]

Obviously you don't use much oil in your cooking... oil splattering could be very painful, there's a reason chefs wear aprons

[jasno]

That's funny - about a week ago I was frying up some garlic in the buff until the feeling of hot needles hit my midsection. If you're going to cook nude, at least cover your junk.

[Ronald Pottol]

Science Fiction writer Joe Halderman recommends cooking bacon in the nude for just that reason, it makes you keep the heat down so it doesn't burn (it or you).

[Robert]

Why would people put clothes on bacon?

[Orion]

Mmm...bacon...

[Baba]

Because bacon goes with everything.

[Ampoliros]

I believed that until someone suggested Bacon flavored chewing gum.

Real bacon goes with anything, but bacon flavor can destroy anything.

[CG]

you had me at bacon

[dave vader]

I believe that i would snort bacon dust... GO BACON!!!

[Fist of Etiquette]

Recommend Clarkman shower disposals. Just watch the typos in the manual.

[Tonya]

OMG I remember that episode of Seinfeld...lol.

[Mango Punch]

False.

[Attorney]

Does she look like the landlady in Kingpin?

[Pro Libertate]

That's the woman who wasn't Vanessa Angel, right?

[Attorney]

Soooo not Vanessa Angel.

[Pro Libertate]

Vanessa Angel was in Superbabies: Baby Geniuses 2. Along with Jon Voight, Scott Baio, and that dude from the Highlander series. Awful movie, but my two-year old loves it. It's weird seeing her play in that kind of role--i.e., the "mom."

[Matthew]

I cook naked all the time

Eww.

[Robert]

Why do people call it "junk"?

[wylie]

I suspect a nautical tie-in, something related to tackle.

[Karbs]

It's called "Junk" because you put it into a box.

[cvquesty]

Then I'd expect it to be called "tackle" instead of "junk". I don't have any "Junk Boxes", but I have several "Tackle Boxes"

[evster]

Someone needs to watch "Dick in a Box"...

[ChicagoTom]

If convicted, Williamson be fined $2,000 and spend a year in jail.

Yes, but will he have to register as a sex offender?

[Earl]

Depends on state laws. In some states you would have to register.

[NO.VA.]

im from northern virginia, right around where this incident allegedly occurred.

if convicted he might have to register as a sex offender, it really depends on the judge, just as he may not have to spend a year in jail and be fined $2000 if convicted, those are the maximums.

[Dave]

Pffft. You don't register as a sex offender. You GET registered as a sex offender.

[don]

you do have to register as a sex offender because where i live if you do not physically go to your county sheriffs office and register you can be charged with another crime for failing to register and you also have to return every year and re-register

[sage]

"Hey, get off my lawn!"

"I dunno, looks like you're glad to see us here."

[Attorney]

WTF difference does it make even if he wanted to be seen naked?

[Qualis Artifex Pereo]

Yeah, I don't think his motive is at stake here. Why were these people on his proper-tie?

Though, the hypothetical scenario in which he notices them on the lawn and in turn makes his naked self visible is a fun (and, ideally, perfectly legal) one. And, of course, the heavier this guy is, the funnier the situation. Maybe this woman was so shocked by the sight of this guy that it was her civic duty to report it to some - any! - authority. I'm just kidding, this woman is probably an unbearable bitch. My condolences to her child and husband.

[JB]

The 'woman' is married to a cop.

[NYC]

According to some news report her husband is a POLICE OFFICER!

[Tonya]

I agree. And at 7 years old, I bet you the kid was laughing their ass off.

[FrBunny]

Officials say he had a coffee cup in each hand and was still holding six donuts.

[Attorney]

LOLZ

[A Different Bill]

Ha! Six? I can hold seven, easy.

[Jim]

What kind? Bear claws?

[PD Quig]

No, cream-filled.

[briareus]

excellent:)

[sage]

This would explain the cops' interest in the case.

[briareus]

Ooohhh, I know you di-in't!

[Jesse]

hahahahaha!!!

[roystgnr]

It's a Reverse Peeping Tom in that the genders have been reversed. If Williamson had been the one cutting across that woman's yard and she had been the one naked in the window, does anyone doubt that he would still be the one getting punished?

[Qualis Artifex Pereo]

Very little doubt in my mind about that.

[melodyshot]

yeah, very little doubt in my mind as well

[Paul]

"One day my sister walked in on me naked and called me a pervert. The next week I walked in on her naked and she called me a pervert."

[perv]

so did you two work these deep seeded incest issues out?....preferably with a web cam.

[Trish]

My brother walked in on me while I was showering and said "Close your eyes, I'm coming in."

[i lol'd]

oh bash.org

never die

[hammer]

you're right. he would have been charge for peeping Tom. I think she should be charged.

[Scott]

Guessing that since a child saw all this, then yes, this poor guy would have to register as a sex offender if convicted. Either way, a *year* in jail for being naked in your own house?! That's just absurd. The inmates run this asylum.

[Paul]

I'm telling you, the government makes the ridculous laws, and it's the goddamned neighbors that affectuate them.

Just like that case of those guys who were playing poker in Texas when the SWAT raided them. My first questions was, which insufferable busybody neighbor turned them in?

[Mango Punch]

WTF was a woman doing with a 7 year old boy at 5:30 in the morning in the woods? That's wha tthe cops should be looking into.

[Solanum]

Why were mommy and her little crotchfruit walking around at five fucking thirty in the morning anyway? Through someone's yard, no less.

[Jungus]

They were returning from the bar and mommy's brethalizer on the ignition wouldn't pass her.

[Jungus]

Make that a breathalyzer.

[Loki1]

Had Mommy, with little Robespierre, been returning from a brothel, might the "problem with the ignition" have been a brothelizer

[mikey]

The story says 8:40 am, not 5:30, but the principle still holds - the state will have to prove he knew they were there to convict.

[anon]

Shit. I had no idea this was illegal. On the weekends, I sit around naked in my apartment all day unless I have somewhere to go. Guess I'll have to start wearing boxers unless I want to end up living under a bridge with the other "sex offenders".

[JB]

Guess I'll have to start wearing boxers unless I want to end up living under a bridge with the other "sex offenders" decapitating more than a few government employees.

Fixed.

[sxp151]

Um, that's really fucked up. You think that might be an overreaction? If not, please seek therapy.

[S.A.]

I hope he has them charged with trespassing.

[nobody special]

Shouldn't they be charged with trespassing? Peeping in windows? wtf?

[heh2k]

This woman should also be charged as a peeping tom, forced to register, and have her child taken away. Also the child should be charged as a peeping tom.

This guy should have trespass papers served on them so they can be arrested if they set foot on his property again. He should try for restraining orders also.

[Delay]

10-4

[heh2k]

This woman should also be charged as a peeping tom, forced to register, and have her child taken away. Also the child should be charged as a peeping tom.

This guy should have trespass papers served on them so they can be arrested if they set foot on his property again. He should try for restraining orders also.

[Zeb]

I think that this one is actually worth saying twice, squirrels.

[kinnath]

Curtains dude, curtains.

[andrew graham]

The news report mentions a roommate and a 5-year-old child. I don't expect he knows his way around Bed, Bath & Beyond.

[wylie]

Shutter's dude, shutters. Can't be trusting your freedom to fluttery curtains.

[wylie]

(Please ignore the inappropriate possessive behind those shutters)

[sage]

If convicted, Williamson be fined $2,000 and spend a year in jail.

And I be angry over this.

[John]

Every person who intentionally makes an obscene display or exposure of his person, or the private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where others are present, or procures another to so expose himself, shall be guilty of a Class 1 misdemeanor.

OMFG I WAS GUILTY OF THIS LAST NIGHT BECAUSE MY WIFE WAS PRESENT WHEN WE HAD SEX. SHE IS AN OTHERS!!!!!

[Hacha Cha]

if that is what he is being charged under then how can it stand? they were on his PRIVATE property and saw him inside his own house. none of this occurred in a PUBLIC place. his yard and his house are NOT a public place.

[R C Dean]

He can be charged if "others are present."

If he takes it that far, he's bound to get a hung jury.

[Slut Bunwalla]

Not visibly hung, though. That would be illegal.

[Big B]

or in any place where others are present

[Tyler]

does this really only apply to men? It says "his" and "himself."

DISCRIMINATION!

[pat]

the problem with this case is I thought your home was considered a private place not opened to the Public

[jammin]

Me too! Only with my fiancee!
People need to get over the naked thing!Everyone has bodies! The guys was making coffee and rolled out of bed tired and groggy! He wasn't jerkin'it in the window! He didn't realize the curtain was open. I've mistakenly walked out to my livingroom naked not realizing my curtain was open. The comments here have been hilarious though.
It was the wife of a cop-they of all people should know! I bet after this he won't wanna live in the neighborhood anyway! remind me to stay the hell away from Vaginia!

[Jimmy the naked]

the mother and her son were not in the kitchen or even in the house. There is no case here.

[JW]

Holy. Fuck.

That is all.

[Hacha Cha]

I hope this gets thrown out and that this guy can turn around and sue the shit out of this fucking lady.

[briareus]

I'd like to know more about this lady. I'd like her to know the meaning of invasion of privacy.

[Erik]

So does anyone have a layout of the authorized "Nude Zones" in our houses? Imagine how many parents have gone unpunished for accidental indecent exposure! Can I charge my own wife who lives in the same house with indecent exposure if she eventually loses her appeal? WTF man!!!

[Me]

So if you have a bathroom window and it is not fogged and you can see through it when the light is on and I just took a dump and then take a shower, if they were walking on the makeshift path, am I now in trouble because "Someone" can see me in my bathroom? George Michelle's was jerkin off in a park and the media and the LAPD dropped it down to a slap on the wrist. I'm getting my paper in my banana hamick!

[I, Kahn O'Clast]

When I was a kid we had a fellow on the block who used to stand nude in his full length front window every morning for about 15 minutes or so. While it was considered odd behavior no one really complained: the mothers warned their kids to avoid looking at him and most people just shrugged it off. It was considered more funny than criminal.

Ah, the 1970's. Greatest Decade Ever!

[mnewman]

Giggity.

[the other jsh]

did you grow up in Westford MA?

[I, Kahn O'Clast]

Pittsburgh, PA.

[John]

Me too. We were a pretty cool city. Then the G-20 came. Now it's illegal to be people.

[Mango Punch]

Are you from Westford MA?? I'm originally from Concord MA.

[JB]

Keep your Masshole love to yourselves.

[JW]

Since this happened in Springfield, should we assume the police chief's last name is something along the lines of Wiggum?

"Suspect is hatless, I repeat, hatless."

[Chief Wiggum]

"what's your 20"
"Oh jeez! Uh...we're on a highway..appears to be asphalt. I'm directly underneath the sun's rays....NOW!"

[homer]

I hope they throw his hatless butt in jail.

[MANIAC]

WTF???

CRAP!!! I live in Springfield, VA, AND I run about my house naked alot!!! DAMN!!! CRAP!!!

DOWN WITH THE TYRANTS!!!!!

[Silentz]

You should organize a march protesting this. Everyone man on the march should be issued a fig leaf and every woman a fig leaf and two pasties.

[Rob]

O.m.f.g. I live in Farifax county. Great. Just great.

[strat]

OK,I never thought I'd say it but now I'm HOPING I get called for jury duty.

I generally find our police to be exceedingly professional, except for when they inadvertently shoot non-violent bookies like Salvatore Culosi.

[Reesa]

This is the stupidest piece of crap charge I've seen in a long time.

Way to go, Springfield. Nevermind that you can't catch the guy who has broken into my car three times, at least I'm safe from a man standing naked in his own home!

[Tonio]

IANAL, but my understanding is that there is longstanding legal precedent that if it can be seen "in public" that it's a prosecutable offense. I do realize that the woman and her child were on his lawn, but it's unclear from Radley's writeup whether he could have been seen from public property (road, sidewalk).

SA, it's highly unlikely that the prosecutor would charge her with trespassing, even if Williamson did request that. Remember, she's a Victim(tm) and the sex-offender case is much more career advancing for the Commonwealth's Atty than a simple trespassing charge. Also, he'd have to have his property posted with "No Trespassing" signs, which most householders don't.

Radley, please follow up on this and let us know how it turns out. Like many other posters here, I suspect the poor guy will be labelled a sex offender. Ugh.

[A Different Bill]

The statute quoted above, presuming that is the applicable statute, requires intent. That's why the cops said "he wanted to be seen."

This is total jackassery, but it's Springfield. What can you expect. I just hope this idiocy doesn't bleed down I-95 and get to Richmond, where I live. It's bad enough that it's in VA at all.

[kinnath]

A trial lawyer, who is not connected to the Williamson's case, says the state will have to prove that Williamson knew people were there for them to get a conviction on the charge that carries a one-year jail term and a $2,000 fine.

Unless he waved to the interlopers, they prosecutor will have a challenge proving that the "perpetrator" knew someone was on his lawn at 5:30 am.

[Concerned Citizen]

At 5:30AM it's dark outside and he probably had the lights on inside. I don't see how he could have seen anything outside while his lights were on and it was dark outside. The lady walking outside couldn't see anything inside, unless the lights were on. Someone didn't say something.

[A Different Bill]

BTW, he doesn't need a prosecutor to charge her with trespassing - trespassing is a private cause of action in tort. And he shouldn't need no trespassing signs, because in a suburban setting, like Springfield mostly is, it should be pretty obvious you're on someone else's property - they were cutting across the guy's front lawn, for pete's sake. No trespassing signs are to provide notice where it's not obvious where the property line is - like when you're walking through the woods.

[Tonio]

Right, but "charge" is for criminal actions which are brought by the state. "Sue" is what you do in a tort, and even if he prevailed she wouldn't have a criminal record, only be exposed to monetary damages.

And I agree that he shouldn't need signage, but I suspect the legal reality is different than what we think.

[wylie]

*Runs out to buy a bunch of no trespassing signs*

[Obamaclown]

Why didn't they arrest the mother and her kid for peeping in his window?

[Walter Sobchak]

Seven year olds, dude.

[Aw, c'mon]

Hacha Cha|10.21.09 @ 1:26PM

how can it stand?

[Slut Bunwalla]

Well, kinda like a tripod, see...

[Hacha Cha]

I love Reason

[scape]

Eric Williamson, who grew up in Hawaii, plans to fight the charge.

Is that bad writing - or the stealthiest anti-Obama dig yet?

[monolith]

what if burglars under the age of 18 break in and see you naked?

[Groovus Maximus]

I am speechless on this one.

I remember when I was younger, it was explained to me that when I bought a home, it is not truly home if you cannot run around naked with scissors and if some one can kick you out of the house, i.e. landlord, parents, mortgage holder.

Apprently that no longer applies if whilst one does this, viewed by a treaspasser and a no trespassing sign is not on display, thus rendering private property rights moot.

[Mango Punch]

when I was younger, it was explained to me that when I bought a home, it is not truly home if you cannot run around naked with scissors

WTF? Who would tell you that?

[Sardoza]

some one who is clearly very wise in the ways of being free with one's self.

[Paul]

Whatever happened to the terms "reasonable expectation"? In your home you have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Hence, you have no expectation that people are looking in your windows. Especially at 5:30 am.

[Abdul]

Ok, I'm not saying Williamson is a pervert, but I have experienced what the police accused Williamson of doing.

I stayed a buddy's place and all night long, some Teenager next door used a flashlight to project silouettes of his junk on my bedroom wall. He would also flash the light into the window so when I got up to cover the window or see what was going on I got a good view of his junk.

I asked my friend about it the next day, and it turned out that the kid was "developmentally disabled" and the whole neighborhood complained about his reverse peeping-tom act.

[kinnath]

Not even remotely similar experiences.

[anon]

In Abdul's defense, I can see how "making coffee naked" could easily be misread as "using a flashlight to project your junk on someone's wall"

[Abdul]

All I'm saying is that there are perverts who do what the police accused Williamson of doing. If Mom and daughter testify to Williamson doing something to attract their attention then maybe there's a case.

From reading the article, all we have is the Defendant's side of the story.

[TrickyVic]

At 5:30 in the morning?

[Gene Callahan]

How many people are going to ignore the fact that it's been stated right here that this happened at 8:30, and that the mother and daughter were on a popular path to go to school on?

[james]

it was a son. nice job reading the article. And if projecting shadows of your junk at unsuspecting strangers is wrong, I don't want to be right.

[libby]

Love it!

[OO=====D]

That is so fucked up!

[Wade]

He must have been pretty damn close to get that image of his junk in focus on your bedroom wall. Or you just have a good imagination.

[Abdul]

It was in philly, just a small 3 foot gap between his window and mine. Trust me, you don't forget shadow puppetry of the penis.

[briareus]

Oh, I bet. You probably toss and turn all night, thinking of that big hard boner on your wall. And its only three feet away. You bite your knuckles just thinking about it. Oh, I bet.

[WTF]

What I want to know is, why are there no 'developmentally disabled' babes flashing shadow pictures of their junk? 🙁

[perv]

Quickly robin it's the Dick signal!

[That's pretty funny]

some Teenager next door used a flashlight to project silouettes of his junk on my bedroom wall.

[meerdahl]

this one i'm outraged about

he's in his kitchen, at 5:30am, and the only way someone could see him is to illegally trespass on his property, and he's the one charged?

[JW]

But meerdahl, it's THE LAW.

We know you can get behind that.

[m0psy]

I'd love to serve on that jury. Unbelievable.

[Tonio]

He'll probably be bullied into pleading guilty to a lesser charge, so there will be no jury trial. SOP these days.

Considering that most juries are made up of doddering seniors, folks on welfare, and others that either don't have anything better to do or don't have the resources to avoid service...

[UprightMan]

It would probably be good to have a bunch of seniors on the jury. He could use the "Get off my lawn!" defense.

[million]

great coffee mug: "Around this place, nobody plays with a full deck!"

would the prosecution have to prove that he knew they were there? when i look out my kitchen window at 5:30AM (pre-coffee or not) i can't see sh*t b/c it's black outside and bright inside.

[James]

there's that whole "intent" to disobey a law thing...

[Zeb]

This is obviously outrageous. What outrages me about this sort of thing generally is that any nudity seems to automatically be considered indecent. You should actually have to do something indecent to be charged with indecent exposure. Just the exposure is not enough. Nudity!=sex.

And if you look in someone else's window, you deserve whatever you see. Seeing some guy's junk is not going to damage your 7 year old.

[MaCaulay Culkin]

Oh I don't know...

[ChicagoTom]

Seeing some guy's junk is not going to damage your 7 year old

Depending on how well endowed the guy is it could make the seven year old self conscious or feel inadequate.

[Mango Punch]

Seeing some guy's junk is not going to damage your 7 year old

I keep sunglasses next to my bed because when I whip it out it's like staring at the sun.

[Michael Jackson]

I hope they don't make him expose himself in a line up. That's real bad, I'm telling you.

[dennis]

then they throw you in a room with doo doo feces on the wall.

[Kristen]

Yep, the cops were involved because Springfield is such a sleepy little town with no crime. The Springfield Mall is a bastion of fun and safety, donchya know!

[unbelievable]

this is ridiculous...what a person does or wears, lack there of, in your own home is your own choice.
what the hell was this lady doing at 5:30 AM with a 7-yr old walking in the neighborhood, on someone's property non the less. trespassing I guess. why not slap her with a trespassing & peeping tom warrant...crazy stupid lady had nothing better to do with her poor pathetic life. what is this world coming to.

[Gene Callahan]

How many people are going to ignore the fact that it's been stated right here that this happened at 8:30, and that the mother and daughter were on a popular path to go to school on?

[Not Gene Callahan]

Time of day doesn't matter as far as privacy in your own home unless VA has some obscure law that states "Your home is a private place between the hours of midnight and 6am; during all other hours it becomes public". Your other point of "popular path to school" basically implyies that since many trespass, it's ok to trespass. Using that same logic: The 7-11 on the corner has been robbed 3 times in the last week soooo it'e ok for me to rob it today.

[Taterwheel]

Just re-read the article and it CLEARLY says 5:30, not once but twice. The only place I find 8:30 is YOUR posts.

[Somebody]

Not to be a downer, but the synopsis up there isn't the actual article. There's a link, which goes to the story that says the time was 8:40, as reported by the mother. Who may or may not have been lying. But 5:30 is not the official time.

[name]

The popular path of across the guys yard?

[Andrea Arbuckle]

I have a friend who was walking around naked in her apartment (which happens to be on the backside of a house and on the second floor - pretty private otherwise) when the UPS guy came to deliver a package. Her door was wide open so she signed for the package in the nude. That guy didn't turn her in. lol. That was probably the best story of his life. Why are some people so freaked out by nudity? It's one thing if this guy Eric was doing helicopters in the window, pointing at the mom and daughter all while drinking his coffee with a giant smile on his face. Assuming that's all to the story I really hope this is dismissed. Isn't it trespassing to be on his property anyway? Good luck Eric!

[Thomas]

"doing helicopters"

I literally laughed out loud when I read that.

[MJ]

Your friend's female and delivery was a guy. The coffee nudist was a guy and his peeping tom a woman.

It ain't fair, but there are things a woman is more likely to get away with than a man. Going about naked in view of others is one of those things.

[Fist of Etiquette]

What is "Andrea's Friend, the UPS Man and What the Parrot Saw"?

I'll take "50's Stag Films" for two hundred, Alex.

[+HoM&M]

Hell, as far as I'm concerned, a man should be able to stand 10 inches* from his property line, with a raging hard on, pointing at it, yelling for everyone to gaze upon the meat and despair. As long as he keeps it over his property, no one can stop him.

Women, of course, can stand much closer to the line. Unless they have D cups.

If people don't like the content of the EM signals he's broadcasting, they can turn off or re-tune their receiving device. Or, if they don't want his pecker-photons hitting their retinas, they can close their eyes or look away.

-Sigh-
</idealism>

*Lies

[Grandpa Whithers]

Did Anonymity Guy finally OD?

[bigbigslacker]

I saw one of his posts on the comments section for the Reason-linked USA Today op-ed about Barack's violation of oath of office.

[Pro Libertate]

When I was in college, a friend of mine and I drove through an apartment complex where a woman was standing buck naked next to her window (profile, not looking out). My friend stopped (he was driving) and watched for a minute. I was yelling at him, telling him we were going to get arrested as peeping toms. Not for one second did it occur to me that the woman could get busted for doing anything like that.

We used to have a girl in the apartments I lived in who would strip in front of her window on occasion. Definitely on purpose. Should she have been jailed? The guys who lived in my apartment complex would certainly have voted to acquit.

[dfd]

We used to have a girl in the apartments I lived in who would strip in front of her window on occasion. Definitely on purpose. Should she have been jailed?

Jailed!? Hell no. She should have been nominated for some kind of public service award.

[Pro Libertate]

I believe that was the official position taken by the male residents.

[Slut Bunwalla]

No doubt they even saluted her, after a fashion.

[ChicagoTom]

Should she have been jailed?

That depends, was she fat?

[Pro Libertate]

Actually, she was pretty attractive--definitely on the well side of built. That was the weird part.

[JW]

Back when my wife and I were dating, we were out for a walk in her neighborhood, a well monied place in DC, when I saw this rather hawt, fully naked woman waling down the stairs of this row house, which ere situated behind a very large, well lit picture window. For a moment, I wasn't sure if I actually saw that, but yeah, I did.

She never really did understand my sudden interest in taking "walks" after that.

[TrickyVic]

Pro, that was a different America. It amazes me how much this country has changed in the last 30 years.

[MuRRizzLe]

This is almost as retarded as the woman driving drunk who hit a truck, killed her boyfriend, and then sued the truck driver.

God bless America.

[barak obama]

Yeah, but was she naked?

[chsw]

Shouldn't the prosecution be thrown out as the witnesses were committing an illegal act - trespass - at the time?

[Abdul]

While indecent exposure is relatively harmless, if trespassers saw some Jimmy Stewart Rear Window type shit, you wouldn't want that tossed out just because the only witnesses were committing a crime at the same time.

[james]

In the Rear Window instance, Stewart was on his own property when he witnessed a crime. If someone on the street had seen him naked, its a different story. They were trespassing on HIS property.

[A Different Bill]

Well after taking a quick look at Fairfax County ordinances and Virginia law, merely "trespassing" is not illegal. Walking across someone else's lawn is not automatically a crime.

Fairfax County municipal code Section 5-4-1 says it is a Class 1 misdemeanor to go on someone else's property "after having been forbidden to do so, either orally or in writing, by the owner, lessee, custodian or other person lawfully in charge thereof, or after having been forbidden to do so by a sign or signs posted on such lands." So that's what no trespassing signs do for you. It provides the required instruction to others to not enter your land. If they enter anyhow, that's illegal trespass. It mirrors the Virginia state law under Title 18.2 of the Virginia Code.

And, by the way, even if it were illegal, that would not automatically mean that another person's act was not also illegal. I'm not saying this guy did commit indecent exposure, just that if you were, in fact trespassing criminally on someone else's land, and that guy did purposely wave his tallywhacker at you, he still would be committing the act of indecent exposure, as defined under Virginia state law, which says "Every person who intentionally makes an obscene display or exposure of his person, or the private parts thereof, ... in any place where others are present ... " is indecent exposure. It does not limit it to only places where others are *legally* present. Purposely showing your stuff to someone else who doesn't want to see it is indecent exposure.

[WTF]

The real question here, of course, is 'what constitutes an 'obscene display'.

Surely simple nudity shouldn't fall under this category (although in some places, apparently, it does).

[I, Kahn O'Clast]

The more I think about this story the madder I get. Now if the woman says that he was flashing her and her kid and waving his junk around that would be one thing.. But just being naked?

And what about the cops. Would it not make more sense to either do nothing unless a second complaint is filed or at most go over and inform the fellow that people have complained and let him take the appropriate steps that it never happen again? But to handcuff him? Ridiculous.

[Skip Kent]

It was dark outside at the time and the lights were on inside. There is no WAY he could have known they were there. Case closed.

[Saevus]

Good work, Encyclopedia Brown! 😉

Except the door was open in the carport, that's where she saw him. Still, not a crime.

[Gene Callahan]

How many people are going to ignore the fact that it's been stated right here that this happened at 8:30, and that the mother and daughter were on a popular path to go to school on?

[Taterwheel]

Pretty much every literate creature that happens upon this article will or will not ignore the fact that you can't fucking read, THE ARTICLE CLEARLY SAYS 5:30, NOT 8:30, IT EVEN SAYS 5:30 TWICE. You are the only dildo that says 8:30, and you repeat it over and over and over and I just got sick of reading your repetitive stupidity!! There, I feel better now 🙂 Go ahead, say 8:30 one more fucking time...

[one word:]

snopes

[dfd]

Isn't living in Springfield punishment enough?

[Paul]

The article doesn't name the woman, but I hope she's eventually identified. She needs to be exposed to public ridicule.

[jasno]

Amen... along with the prosecutor. We need a libertarian 'freedom march' to walk a group of people around their houses at 5:30 AM to check for violations.

[Beavis Butthead]

You said ... exposed ....

[scape]

I had a pizza delivery job and one time I got a wrong address and ended up on a porch with a lady standing full frontal nude at the front door not expecting me to show up. Well, I immediately turned and ran back to my car, drove to the police station and demanded they take action against this depraved woman stood there staring for 10 seconds before she noticed me and jumped back and slammed the door shut. When I delivered the pizza the guy could only manage a 25 cent tip but I told him not to worry, your next door neighbor took care of it.

[Bill45]

Good thinking under pressure.

[Paul from Hamburg]

If this woman really thinks that Williamson is a threat of some sort, why is she walking around with her 7 year old daughter 2 hours before sunrise!

I am almost certain we'll find out something else is going on here: she doesn't like way he parks his car, or the music he plays, or something.

[Sasnak]

There's an old joke about the lil ol lady complaining about the naked man next door. Cops come and say they can't see anything. Lil ol lady says, "Well if you put your left foot on the toilet and your right foot on the window sill, then look as far to the left as possible...."

I never knew the joke was supposed to end with the guy cuffed and booked.

[Zooboo]

"Fairfax County Police say they believed Williamson wanted to be seen naked by the public."

Obviously he lured them onto his property with his nudity so that they could see him nude. It's all his fault!

[tHINGS]

This stuff needs to be fought with baseball bats. The filthy skank who called the cops needs to be hounded out of town, and Williamson should bring trespassing charges.

Some protesters out in front the police station would help, too. Get some signs implying fascism and asking people who might be looking in *their* windows, ready to turn them in for something.

Maybe a press conference demanding an investigation of the local police's persecution of people stading in their kitchens. And for good measure ask why Child Protective Services is dropping the ball and not investigating the pox-ridden whoreslut dragging her kid around at all hours.

[marlene]

UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!!

[Erik]

I have set up a fundraiser to help get Mr Williamson money for a good
lawyer, drop these charges, and bring up charges on this woman!!! I can not
even believe the police and "investigators" entertained this! I will pledge
$10 as soon as I get home. (work computer will not let me).

http://www.fundable.com/groupa.....3282923812

[briareus]

Naked Coffee Man Help Fund.

Haha, that's awesome.

[pajama momma]

Fairfax police say Williamson wanted to be seen naked.

Gotta love the thought police.

[B]

It is impossible to not be pissed off when you hear shit like this. Do the jobs held by the people who are arresting and prosecuting this man ever go to people who know how to exercise even a modicum of good judgment? This case ranks up there with the kid getting suspended for having a pocketknife in his fucking car.

[Earl]

Just an outgrowth of Public School zero tolerance rules. No decision making capacity needed.

[Xixi]

It's Fairfax county, home of political correctness gone wild and common sense gone far, far away. If anything, she shold be charged with trespassing. This woman should be laughed out of town. Off topic: I bet she's a democrat.

[TrickyVic]

Sadly, your first sentence applies to most of America.

[Eric H]

Most of America is in Fairfax County?

[Max]

Well, xixi, her conduct reeks to high heaven of republican family values. Dems aren't known for playing that game.

[Gman]

No, but Dems sure are known for all the politically correct bullshit and stupid laws that allow for situations like this.

[Enrique]

At 5:30 AM in October, it's dark as night. How could he have known anyone was outside to see him?

[Rick]

Reminds me of a story. Was driving with the wife when we saw a nude woman mowing the lawn in the buff on a riding mower.

My wife exclaimed "did you see that!?!@:". From years of training, I instantly replied "yeah, that new John Deere is the sh*t - maybe for X-mas"

[Grandpa Whithers]

Nicely done, sir. Nicely done.

[BettB]

LOL!!!

[crkv]

Most states include the language that requires the exposure to be for the sexual gratification of the exposer or the viewer and being reckless whether someone else might see. I am not sure about this jurisdiction, but I don't see the sexual gratification and possibly not even reckless whether someone might see him.

[Captain Kirk]

Aroused, his physical strength could kill.

[Earl]

Not Kalifornia. Some college athletes were caught mooning people while traveling to a athletic contest and were forced to register as sex offenders.

[TrickyVic]

We all know the deal. It's a 7 year old and a naked man. It MUST be a crime. Specifics not important.

[Urkobold?]

SO HAVING SEX WITH A WOMAN IN THE BACKSEAT OF YOUR CAR IN VIRGINIA. . .THAT'S RIGHT OUT, CORRECT?

[Junkjiggler]

it depends. What kind of car?

[Urkobold?]

THE URKOBOLD PREFERS TO HAVE PUBLIC CAR SEX IN ONE OF THE OLD CLASSICS, LIKE A '57 BEL AIR. BIG BACKSEAT, BIG WINDOWS. BIG BOUNCY, BOUNCY.

[John C. Randolph]

Back when I lived in Fairfax, I had a '77 Pontiac Grand Prix. Its back seat got a workout.

-jcr

[GooseEgg]

Hands down best car for luv make'n -- 1969 AMC "Lay-Down" Rambler!

[Ramblin Man]

I had a '69 Rambler too! Best car ever.

[Trouble]

Not if you cover up in a blanket... er, so I've heard.

[Bill45]

There more to this than what ... ahem ... meets the eye.

Does a two grand fine and a year in jail make this a felony under Virginia law? Was the kitchen-exposer indicted by a grand jury? Pardon, but, what underoccupied states attorney brought this stinker to a grand jury?

[Pro Libertate]

I bet the chick used to date the dude, but neither wants to admit it.

[Kyle Jordan]

You know, words don't properly describe the fucking idiocy involved in this story.

Chalk it up to my bad mood, but I'd love to see the woman shot.

[T]

In Texas, you have to be visible from a public roadway. It's how Janet Jackson didn't get charged with anything after the Superbowl. I always thought that was a bit odd.

[Libertymike]

Again, the question must be asked: Does the monopolization of the administration of justice deliver us a better quality of life or not?

[Libertymike]

If there was some competition for the administration of justice in Fairfax County, I submit that one would be free to dance naked in one's kitchen without fear of arrest.

[w34ht52wivb]

I think there should be a protest demonstration in the city. People from all over the country should go there and march naked.

[unbelievable]

I 2nd that 🙂

[Junkjiggler]

While I agree the case is apparently absurd I raise this point: If the guy was truly just making coffee, how could his junk be seen as his junk would be presumably lower than the window vantage point. If his junk were to be seen I would assume he would have to stand on something and be flaunting it, thereby intentionally showing it. But in reality, who hasn't done that.

[kinnath]

if you read the fucking article you will see the photos where he has a door with windows adjacent to the kitchen . . .

[KingCranium]

What if I'm in the bathroom, getting ready for a shower, in a single-level house and the bathroom has a window? Anybody walking through my yard could look in the window and see me, like Peeping Tomasina here did.

#1- I'm glad this happened in a democratic stronghold during a democratic administration so I don't have to hear comments about how it's the conservative republican morals police.

#2- As long as this guy promises not to back down, this won't go anywhere, because the lady involved will quickly realize that during the prosecution of this her name will get out, and she would be the subject of a tidal wave of public scorn. She'll plead with the police to drop it.

[CONTRARY]

Except...
Wife of a cop + calling in on a charge like this = Republican.

Sorry, man, but the math adds up.

[John]

I'll bet you a million dollars this insane ladies a republican. Republicans have problems with anyone doing anything they didn't personally approve first.

[hamzig]

Here is my question how to these Effin moron Idiot cops expect to "prove" he wanted to be "seen naked in public"....because unless Im as stupid and retarded as those PIGS, wasnt this man in HIS HOME, which by definition is not a public place? Its because of donut mongering jerks like those cops that i wish Ralph Bucky Phillips would of taken a few more out before he was caught.

[jvon]

This is the reason I have privacy film on all my windows facing the street. Freaking ridiculous, but this is the age we live in.

[Rick]

In Vancouver BC, it's apparently okay for women to be topless at the beach, yet in the same city a block from the beach, a guy complained to me (I'm an apartment manager) that one of my tenants was walking around nude in her 7th floor apartment. So I mentioned it to her, she kept doing it, he called the police and they came down and dealt with it pronto! - police are very quick when there are reports of naked women.

[John C. Randolph]

Did you punch his lights out?

-jcr

[bigbigslacker]

The proper reply is, "huh, you a fag or something?"

(nothing against homosexuality, but, well, you nomesayin)

[wylie]

He was bein faggy, which has nothing to do with homosexuality.

[Paul from Hamburg]

I just noticed something else: The summary above refers to a daughter, but the linked story says the 7 year old was a boy. So either this woman is too immature to handle the occasional nude man, or she thinks her son should never see naked men. Either way, this child will need some serious therapy in about 8 years.

[John C. Randolph]

No, that kid needs serious therapy right now. Puritans can warp kids like you wouldn't believe.

-jcr

[Sean]

If it's 5:30 in the AM, it's damned near pitch black outside. If you're in your kitchen with the light on, there's no way in hell you could see outside to even know if someone's there.

The proper response would have been for the cops to say to the guy "if you're going to walk around nake, you need to put up curtains and/or blinds".

Why the hell they went to the level it's at indicates a profound level of incompetence in the police officers and prosecutors. Hopefully people lose their jobs over this waste of taxpayer money.

[Slut Bunwalla]

Hopefully people lose their jobs over this waste of taxpayer money.

Heh heh. How adorable.

[L. Steven Beene II]

And the woman is not named ... WHY!?

Had a man done exactly the same thing, he'd be arrested for being a peeping tom.

Fire the ADA and arrest the woman - that'll stop this horsesh*t.

Steven

[+HoM&M]

Had a man done exactly the same thing, he'd be arrested for being a peeping tom.

Also, had he been walking his child, he'd get "contributing to the delinquency of a minor".

[RL]

And lose custody of the kid. Meanwhile, social workers would help all the little kiddies in the Dad's life "remember" similar incidents.

The cops would go on TV and claim they busted an international sex trafficking ring.

Some cleric somewhere would issue a fatwa and declare jihad. A Nobel Prize would eventually be awarded.

The world is in the toilet.

[Bob]

To prove that this man was deliberately exposing himself is impossible because the truth is so obvious that his privacy was violated by a trespassing peeking tom. Get her name public as quickly as possible. Expose her to the world so everyone will know who this evil hateful bitch is. She deliberately did this because she was aware that he often made coffee in his kitchen at that hour and often did so naked because it was convenient for him to do so. It's difficult to ascertain who is more evil--the woman or the police who support this kind of assault on the American public in the privacy of their own home. The man is totally innocent. The woman and her police buddies are guilty as hell. Wake up, American people, and smell the approaching wave of Fascism.

[Hillary Clinton]

It's 3:00 a.m., and your children are safe and asleep. But there's a phone on the other side of the house, and it's ringing--something's happening in the world. Should you answer the call, even though you're stark naked?

[John C. Randolph]

GGAAAAAGH! I did NOT need to imagine Hillary Clinton naked.

-jcr

[Bill Clinton]

Jesus, me neither man.

[Monica Lewinsky]

I don't even want to imagine myself naked!

[Hillary Clinton]

The you won't like the sex tape I'm about to have stolen from my collection. All part of my 2012 strategy!

[John C. Randolph]

Sex tape? What, did you hire someone from that agency that Spitzer used to use? Can't imagine anyone doing you voluntarily.

-jcr

[Tulpa]

I would have done her back in '92.

[John C. Randolph]

Sounds like you need to trade in your guide dog.

-jcr

[Trouble]

After the state drops the charges, the guy needs to go after this cupid stunt for malicious prosecution. (She was in his front yard at 0-dark-30; wtf?)

Oh well, "You can put it in the hands of your attorney but you can't make it stand up in court...." - Eric Idle

[Rich]

Just think what might happened had he been wearing a t-shirt with some offensive slogan, like "Trespassers Will Be Shot" or "Yo, ..."

[John Tiberius Webb]

I've heard of "Trespassers William," but not "Trespassers Johnson."

[Paul from Hamburg]

OK, calm down everybody. I just noticed that the story was aired on a Fox News affiliate. I think that proves that it never actually happened. I am sure it is all a ruse to make Democrats look bad.

[John]

Did you know that Fox News has to refer to itself as an entertainment station in Canada. They aren't real news. They are propaganda pushers. On the flip side the same could be said for cnn.

[cheeflo]

Article says it was a 7-year-old boy, not her 7-year-old daughter.

[Zerosum]

While I certainly understand the Libertaian perspective here - and share it - there are weirdos out there who would go to greater lengths than this.

Don't belive me? I give you:

http://www.dickflash.com

Go ahead, poke around the forums. The site is full of creepy dudes who expose themselves for fun. Pretty creepy stuff.

It's entirely possible that this guy has flashed this mother and daughter before. Think about it: a mom walking with her daughter at 5:30am on a Tuesday. It's probably a trip they make regularly. Our perv notices them, and decides to have fun under the guise of plausible deniablity.

Am I saying the guy should have been arrested? Not necessarily. A stern warning from the cops would probably do the trick. But it's entirely likely that he intentionally exposed himself.

[Solanum]

hmm...

[Seriously?]

What kind of mom regularly takes her 7 year old out marching around other peoples yards at 5:30?

[John C. Randolph]

Maybe one who's trolling for attention from that beefy cop she's had her eye on?

-jcr

[Gene Callahan]

How many people are going to ignore the fact that it's been stated right here that this happened at 8:30, and that the mother and daughter were on a popular path to go to school on?

[RL]

Yeah, if you click the link, the story has been updated to show that the mother reported that the incident happened at 8:40.

The homeowner claims that it was 5:30 and dark.

[Ryan]

How many times are you gonna ignore the fact that it was a 7 year old boy you fucking simpilton

[Ryan]

Its his property and they were cutting through his yard so in reality its her for putting her SON in the situation

[Balderdash]

If this mother and daughter combo had made this walk before, and mr. "entirely likely that he intentionally exposed himself" was repeating on previous behavior, why was "offended mom" still cutting across his lawn? She would have already known about his behavior. She should have been acting responsibility and protecting her young daughter by not cutting across his lawn. Kindly think these things through Zerosum.

[Super Freak]

I walk around ALL the time neked with ALL the curtains open! My neighbors NEVER complain and I have YET to be arrested! This is beyond ST00PID!

[Miss NotSafeForWork]

Am I in trouble?

[Jenni]

I'm afraid I'd have to file trespassing charges if she filed "nekkid in my own kitchen" charges. Teach that bitch two can play at that game.

[JoeInVegas]

He should have them arested for Trespass

[Louis]

Or for tr?s ass.

[timekeeper]

Disregarding the whole absurdity of being arrested for being naked in one's own home, I have to say "WTF?" over the caption under the picture for the article--"Eric Williamson, who grew up in Hawaii, plans to fight the charge." What does Hawaii have to do with this?

[Gigi]

He needs to counter-sue the dumb bitch who was tresspassing and being a peeping Theresa. What a hag!

[Donna]

Poor guy. I'm appauled that a person would be arrested for being nude in his own home. Sounds like the woman is a nut job and wanted to cause problems for him. I'm sure he wasn't wagging willy at 0530 am. Police should be fighting crime and not dealing with a trumped up bs charge such as this one. What has this world come to when we can't walk around naked in our own home?

[Aisha 180]

Maybe he can use the Whoopi defense, was he naked or naked naked?

[Bruce Rheinstein]

Here's the Fairfax Police version:

"Spokeswoman Mary Ann Jennings said the woman and her son first saw Williamson standing naked inside his doorway as they walked along a path outside his home. Police say Williamson then followed the two from inside his home and exposed himself again through a large front window."

[hamzig]

Yeah I don't believe that for a second, Thats called POLICE Embelishment. The need to make the charges sound true to they add there own details. This is why people like Bucky Phillips shoot cops.

[voxpop]

Wow. He should countersue, since they were on his property. Call them voyeurs.

[PookyBear]

I don't mean to split hairs--I think the woman is in the wrong--but nowhere in the linked article can I find that the time was 5:30 a.m. The lady claims she was walking her child to school at 8:40 a.m. Are there extra details elsewhere?

[Eric H]

The story's been updated. I read it earlier, and it said 5:30. In the update, the lady's claiming it was 8:40, while the 5:30 figure earlier was based on what the guy told the reporters.

[hamzig]

Well, when was he arrested?

[Splashman]

I hate when important details are changed without an editor's note; it induces exactly this sort of confusion.

And I wonder why the decision was made to drop the man's assertion in favor of the woman's? Sexism? Because he's a presumed pervert?

We need the whole timeline: His assertion, her assertion, time of 911 call, etc. No way we can know anything for sure right now. He could be a perv, she could be a lying b*tch.

[Concerned Citizen]

Have a reasoned opinion?
Va Attorney Gen. Bill Mims
email: [e-mail].

Governor Tim Caine
http://www.governor.virginia.g.....vernor.cfm

Fairfax County Sheriff Stan Berry
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/sheriff/contactus.htm

[J]

Meanwhile, elsewhere in MA, a truckdriver saw and pursued a naked woman driving her car.....he wanted a date.

[Kim]

I feel that the lady who reported him should be arrested for invation of privacy and peeping tom. Think about it she had to stop call the police. What is wrong with people. Can't they mind their own business... I feel sorry for Eric and I will pray that he isn't convicted.

[John C. Randolph]

First question that spring to mind is, could he be seen from any public throughway, or only from his own property? If the former, the cops MAY have a point. If not, the cops should be looking at a charge of false arrest.

-jcr

[hamzig]

I don't get this, if this dumb broad was on HIS property LOOKING IN HIS WINDOW, how was he nude in public? Last I knew someone's property was not public place. I am so sick of ADA's a Police abusing their power. It's really too bad the ADA and Cops involved in this cant be dragged from their offices and beat senseless in the streets for all to watch.

[John C. Randolph]

It seems that there is an unfortunate shortage of tar and feathers in the practice of chastisement of overreaching officials these days.

-jcr

[wondering woman]

I say everybody wake up before dawn tomorrow, go to the kitchen naked, & make coffee with the shades open. WAKE UP AMERICA !!!!

[wrwbeenz]

I don't know about the rest of you, but if I "wanted" to be seen naked, I know for sure I wouldn't be in my kitchen and definitely not at 5:30 am. I would be sitting on my front porch around noon-ish if I wanted to be seen. This is a great example of the idiocracy that is our government. A man (or woman) can't wake up and make some coffee before they get in the shower without having to worry about some lady calling the cops on them. And why the hell was the woman on his yard that early in the first place? With her child no less!!! Talk about bad parenting.

[madehero2004]

I would sue the Lady who called the police, and I would file a lawsuit against the state as well. Why is it that the criminals always seem to get others convicted.

[John C. Randolph]

I guess we should just be glad that this isn't a story about a cop getting shot and an innocent person facing 20 to life for defending his home from an unknown intruder.

-jcr

[A Different Bill]

Geez, the more I read these comments, the more I think a lot of people might be overreacting here. We don't know the facts. All we know is what has been reported, and people are making all kinds of assumptions about it.

Could the guy have "wanted" to be seen? Sure. If it's 5:30 a.m. and it's dark outside, you know if you turn on a light, anybody outside can see in. For all we know, he's in a small house in a close neighborhod, with his kitchen window 12 feet from the sidewalk or 8 feet from his neighbor's house. My first house was like that. You pretty much had to keep your blinds down all the time when the sun was down, because the neighbors and anyone walking past could see straight in.

It's easy for us libertarian-leaning types to say "man arrested for being naked in his kitchen," but for all we know, there has been a long-running fued between these neighbors as she walks her kid to school on the path that runs in between the houses and he doesn't like her doing that, so he sees here out there and stands in front of the window showing his schween. I'm not saying that's what happened; we don't know.

And as I said above, merely walking across someone else's property, without any "no trespassing" signs and never having been told not to, is not a crime. And even if it were, it would not negate another person's crime.

As others have pointed out, the prosecutor must prove the man's intent to be seen. And that's where the investigation of the facts comes in. It's pretty clear we don't know all the facts, as the story has already changed since this morning. She's saying it was later in the day than he said. How do we know which of them is more credible? Answer: we don't.

It says she was walking her kid to school - and here we've got people saying she's a bad parent. How does walking your kid to school make you a bad parent? How about we calm down until we know more about the facts?

[John C. Randolph]

http://tinyurl.com/yz9julm

Doesn't sound to me like this guy was getting off on flashing the stupid cow.

-jcr

[hinky niteflix]

I agree. It's just as plausible to think that maybe mom just thought the whole thing was funny(I would). She may have simply mentioned it to Dad, who went off the deep end, insisting that his precious child was a victim. Since he's a cop, he would be the more logical parent to yell 'criminal!'

[A Different Bill]

Oh, and one more point - it doesn't matter whether he was "in public." The state statute says all you have to do is intentionally make "an exposure" of your private parts "in any place where others are present." If you purposely show someone your dingus, it doesn't matter where you are.

[Oh Brother]

Why all the weird nicknames for genitals? This is the problem, people are fundamentally uncomfy with real human bodies. Americans seem OK with airbrushed video or photographs, and then only those of nude women. God forbid a penis is out there. Freakish!

[Stephen Macklin]

While in college I was the subject of complaint for standing in front of my dorm room window naked. (The window was adjacent to the closet and I had just gotten out of the shower.

I walked with campus security to the spot I had been seen from and pointed out that if the "victim" was that easily offended, perhaps she should spend less time staring in fourth floor windows.

It was 20+ years ago and that was good enough to clear it up then. I doubt it would help now.

[wylie]

Geez guys, calm down.

It's only being naked in your own home that you have to worry about losing next.

It's not like collectivism is eroding our freedoms left and right, as my body and my property become someone else's domain.

God, STFU and wait for the (meaningless) details.

[MJ]

Unless the guy was doing something to draw attention to himself, the civilized thing for this woman to do was to walk away and pretend she saw nothing. This is sort of person who is an accomplice to the criminialization of everything.

[Larry the Cableguy]

Proof positive we don't shoot enough trespassers in this country. This would be a fatal mistake where I live.
I have a sign that says, "There is only ONE landmine buried in my yard". Works great!
BTW, my coffee pot is beside the kitchen sink, and the counter hits me just above my belly-hole. Why would he have a full length window in his kitchen anyway? I think he was asking for it...
Or is it illegal to make coffee without wearing a shirt?

[Chris]

Score one for the wasting of the courts time and the tax payers money.
Score zero for common sense.

[Aulbert West]

It seems to me that if the situation were reversed, he would of still been arrested. She's a peeping Tam (a female peeping Tom), who was (it seems to me) was Trespassing on his property. There's a lady in Oregon (Rae) who goes out in her front yard stark naked.

[Funny]

Generally indecent exposure requires that you be in either a) a public place or b) a private place with other people there where you could reasonably expect someone to get offended.

I don't think this falls into either category, so I doubt he'll be convicted...unless Virginia has an odd statute for indecent exposure.

[hamzig]

I'd like to know when this Skank lady's name will be made public.

[Frank IBC]

The WTOP.com story to which Mr. Balko links was updated at 5:44 p.m. (EDT), and it seems that there is more to the story:

The woman who reported to police that a man in a Springfield home exposed himself to her and her son has a different story than what Eric Williamson has told to local media.

The woman told police it was 8:40 a.m. [not 5:30 a.m.] when she was walking her son to school along a path between houses. [Not "cutting across the lawn".] She said they first spotted Williamson naked in an open door in the car port of his home. [Not in the kitchen, behind a presumably tiny window.]

She also told police that Williamson then walked across the house to a large window, facing the way she was walking.

[Gene Callahan]

But all these people here just KNEW that she was deserving of all sorts of abuse.

[Beth]

You might want to look at the TV report linked to by John: http://tinyurl.com/yz9julm

Even assuming that everything she says is true, and that he was clearly engaging in indecent exposure, how do you explain the police response? After all, we are dealing with a misdemeanor in which intent must be proven, and all they have is the woman's say-so. All I would do is send an officer to chat with him, and advise him to be careful. At most, I can see them bringing him in for questioning. But actually arresting him?

And according to Mr Junk, they didn't just arrest him: he claims that he had gone to sleep, and was woken up by 5-6 police officers in his bedroom, who proceeded to call him a pervert, and who later interrogated his colleagues, letting them know of the charges.

Are you f-cking kidding me?! There had better be *much* more to the story!

[NankerPhelge]

Was it a sidewalk between houses (public space), or a "path" which could however often used most probably sounds like private property?
A path still sounds like a shortcut to me and this gal was intruding oh naked guy's personal freedom.

[shocked]

I think this is STUPID..when did it become illegal to be naked in your own home.

[hamzig]

When the starting having "Criminal Justice" Schools like Truck driving school. Those moron Cops in that city should be fired. No wonder people hate police.

[Kingsoze]

Seriously it only takes one person and their kid to declare someone a sex offender? How do we know the woman didnt just make this up? Did she take a picture? Did the police stake out this guys house to catch him nude in the morning? Hell if the burden of proof is just eyewitness testimony I can just coach my eight year-old cousin to say she saw someone naked from the street?

[sheriff joe]

Wait a minute...

They didn't call out the SWAT team to kick in his door, toss a flashbang in, and shoot 'naked guy' 47 times?

This country is going to hell...

[Beth]

Sadly, this isn't as funny as it should be.

See http://tinyurl.com/yz9julm or my 12:54AM comment.

[James Anderson Merritt]

Looks like this guy's castle needs a bigger moat (with maybe a few alligators in it).

[bec]

i got into trouble from my real estate for indecent exposure as i didnt have lace in my lounge room windows. the windows looked out on to the dirt track at the back of the flats and a 9ft fence. i was 21 at the time and im still female, at least there is some equality! and before u think "only in america" Im australian

[Think]

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1790464

[Big Rod]

I tried to project my junk to the neighbor's house with a flashlight. Unfortunately, he didn't have a big bay window.

[Trick]

People who walk near glass houses should not break balls.

[Slartibartfast]

I find this shocking! These people shouldn't have had to see that!!! Nudity should be limited to TV and the Internet.

[tony]

I effing live in Fairfax county. you mean these useless fucks are dicking around with this bullshit? I was cutting through my neighbors yard and I saw one of those Indian god thing-a-ma-jigs. I thought my religious rights were protected by the CONSTITUTION not some BS state law. Where are the arrests?

[Jack]

It's just nudity people, get over it. It's natural.

Let the kids see all kinds of violence, killing, etc. on tv but let them see what someones creator gave them and everyone freaks. This country is messed up.

[Markus]

Well phrased

[NankerPhelge]

Whatever happened to covering the kid's eyes and making a mental note to self not to shortcut on this eccentric's path again? Instead the first response in the New Republic of the Self-Righteously and Easily Offended is to call out the Law and have that awful Perv put behind bars. Sad.

[Leo B]

I really dont know what to say, that mother had no business looking through his window. SO, if it were a vice-versa situation, and he had accidentally seen her naked through her window would she have gotten arrested? I think not.

[Frank IBC]

I guess Mr. Balko can't be bothered to update his post based on the new information in the later edition of the WTOP.com article (linked article at top).

And readers can't be bothered to actually read that article, either.

[SjB]

I would like to see the man sue the woman for trespassing on his property....

[RosanneinTN]

What a person does in their own home is their own business. What in the heck was she doing peering into his home anyway?

[CVQuesty]

What we need is the person who claims to live around there to get a front shot of the house and post it somewhere. Easy: If the house is relatively closed and has a small kitchen window, then they need to get a life and quit tresspassing property. If it has a HUGE plate-glass window that anyone driving by could've seen "naked-man" through, then he's really in the wrong.

[TK]

In Europe, people are not prudish about the naked body. It is after all how you were born and should not be made out to be taboo...I mean this guy was in his own home!!!

[mattt]

you are right....its crazy. Maybe its because all the stuck up puritan a holes left europe and came here

[The Limey]

"had cut across Williamson's front yard" is that not trespassing ? ?

[mattt]

another thing....its a naked body, how did America get so repressed? If he had his big screen tv in the window and blowing people away with bloody violence in some video game no one would care, but omg a naked body.....what a joke. Grow up people.

[Bellingham]

The problem here is not the naked man in his own house, or even the mother and her kid.

The problem is the idiot cop who arrested--and charged!--this man. A citizen can complain, but that doesn't mean police have to take them seriously.

He probably has a good case for a lawsuit against the police. I hope he files it.

[A Different Bill]

Excellent job reading the details and responses that answer many of your questions and comments, people. Really excellent. Well done.

Excellent use of rational reasoning. Give yourselves all a big hand.

[Beth]

Generally, before being particularly snide, I make sure that I myself am relatively covered. But that's just because I don't like looking like an ignorant jerk; obviously you don't suffer from my this hangup.

[Frank IBC]

OK, I guess folks are still too lazy to read the update on the linked article:

The woman who reported to police that a man in a Springfield home exposed himself to her and her son has a different story than what Eric Williamson has told to local media.

The woman told police it was 8:40 a.m. [not 5:30 a.m.] when she was walking her son to school along a path between houses. [Not "cutting across the lawn".] She said they first spotted Williamson naked in an open door in the car port of his home. [Not in the kitchen, behind a presumably tiny window.]

She also told police that Williamson then walked across the house to a large window, facing the way she was walking.

Also, "trespassing" is not illegal per se. (And the woman denies that she was "cutting across the lawn".) "Trespassing" only illegal when the property is fenced or posted with "no trespassing" signs.

[Beth]

1. Even if this is true (and it seems to be a "he said she said" situation), it doesn't vitiate the essence of most of the comments.

2. Were you too lazy to look at http://tinyurl.com/yz9julm regarding the behavior of the police?

[Tom]

Charge the lady and her daughter for being Peeping Toms and make them registers as sex offenders.

[Mike]

I wish I saw him nekkid...lol. Mark my words, his next job will be modeling for Playgirl.

[wayner]

The human body is sinful, shameful and disgusting. It should always be covered.

[Tonya]

What the hell? I think you need to be tied to a chair and forced to look at issues of Playboy.

[Markus]

What planet are you from?

[I'm not a christain but...]

The human body is sinful, shameful and disgusting. It should always be covered.

I read the begining of the bible, i was bored... God made us... we were naked, says dont eat apple from tree, we eat apple, we get ashamed... So, since god made us naked he commited a sin?

[Aurora Erratic]

What the hell were they doing in his yard? If someone cut through my yard at 5:30 am, they'd see me making coffee in the nude, too. But it's my damn yard and I don't expect anyone will be there without my consent.

[WTF]

What really bites my balls is why is it a sin to be naked anywhere? What's so bad about the human body that it should be an offense to show it? Any prudish parents out there, you mean to tell me that your child has never seen you naked? And what? do you pray for forgiveness for necessarily touching your child's genitals while cleaning their diapers? It's time to give the religious 'right' a reality check.

[OMGAlaska]

A good lawyer will rip this to shreds.

[mane]

stop argueing guys its an obvious photoshop trick.. haha get a life!

[hamzig]

It is because of Police behavior like this, that when people like Bucky Phillips takes out a couple state troopers, I don't feel so bad.

[Masked Superstar]

This whole arrest of this man is very inane and a waste of the Tax Payers money. I have seen first hand Police Officers of Fairfax County urinate at the Huntington Metro Station in Alexandria (Men and women) and when this is reported with pictures to the Internal Affairs Division of the Fairfax County Police, nothing is done or it is just swept under the rug. Moreover, I have seen Women Police Officers with the Fairfax County Police Department pull male drivers over at night under some false driving infraction of the law and in leui of giving these men a ticket, they give them the option of performing oral sex on them (meaning the women officers) or having them (meaning the men who were stopped) smell the seat of these female Officers undies or G-strings. The same goes for the male officers who stop women at night: they (meaning the male officers) are looking for either the have these women or throp their breasts. I used to think deep in the southern State of Louisiana that the Police were bad, but I know now from 12 years in Fairfax County that I was way off.

Yes, there are a few good and decent police officers working for the Fairfax County Police Department, but now the BAD police Officers seemingly outweigh the GOOD.

[Rombo]

This Mother and kid have confessed to Tresspassing. I hope they they prosecute this voyeristic Biatch and the rugrat to the fullest exent of the law!

[Masked Superstar]

Rombo:

I could not agree with you more as the mother and her child were in fact in the wrong here and need to get what they deserve!!!!! The Virginia State Code really needs to be changed to meet up with the times of this modern world.

When a regular Patrol Officer is permitted to lied and "Impersonate A Federal Agent (US Marshal, CIA, FBI) and is not part of a task force per se, nothing in Fairfax County Code will happen if this is a Fairfax County Police Officer. We all know that Impersonating a Federal Law Enforcement Agent or Employee is a Felony at the federal level. I know of at least 20 Officers in Fairfax County who knowingly do such and expect nothing to happen to them in terms of the laws of the US being enforced.

[Lindsay]

If it would have been a woman naked walking around everyone would be ok with it- I walk around nude in my own home, sometimes in the middle of the morning- if you look in my damn windows it's your own fault. Leave the poor guy alone.

[Frank IBC]

Beth -

To humor you, I watched the Fox News segment. Even more pathetic than I expected it to be. They interviewed the defendant only, and accepted his statements regarding what the woman accused him of, as gospel. They didn't even bother following up and contacting the woman regarding what she had actually accused him of. Given that he's willing to lie about what time the incident occurred, that the woman and her son were "cutting across the lawn" rather than walking along a path between two houses, and lying about his location in the house, I don't give much credibility to his description of the actual arrest.

Fox didn't bother contacting the woman who made the charges. They didn't bother contacting the police who made the arrest. Instead, they just interviewed two DEFENSE ATTORNEYS.

More sensationistic and sloppy reporting from Fox News.

[Beth]

Ah, so people who don't look at the information you want them to are "lazy," but for you to look at further information is a matter of humoring me.

I can't say I'm particularly impressed by the quality of the reporting (what a shock!) but surely you are self-aware enough to realize you're mirror-imaging the worst of the commenters you're arguing against. Unless you have more information (which I would urge you to share with us), you have no basis to repeatedly accuse the defendant of lying.

But then again, he appeared on Fox News and is being championed in Reason; he *must* be a liar. QED.

[Frank IBC]

Beth -

Someone is lying here - it's either the defendant or the accuser. I find the accuser's story (in the updated WTOP article linked in the very first sentence of Mr. Balko's post, which you are determined to ignore) far more reasonable and believable.

I've been a reader of Reason for the past 24 years, and Hit & Run for at least 5 years, although not a heavy commenter. Your assumptions in the last sentence are nothing but idiotic - I'm sorry, there is really not a more polite way to put it.

[Beth]

I find the time given by the defendant problematic, but then again, the accuser's testimony also has some arguably inconsistent elements.

As I wrote, there's too much he-said she-said here, and I find the police action to be somewhat puzzling. Or rather, I did, until reports started coming out that the accuser is a cop's wife. That would explain the police's action, but I'm still not quite sure what makes you consider the accuser's account so "far more reasonable and believable" that you accuse the defendant of repeatedly lying. Maybe you're just generally of a prosecutorial bent ("you are determined to ignore").

I do apologize for wondering whether your repeated sneers regarding Fox News might indicate a reluctance to accept a version of events presented by them. My bad. Mea culpa maxima.

Oh, and don't worry; given your behavior so far, I don't expect politeness from you.

[Ryan]

Beth I hate to tell you but Fox is entertainment not news they are not required to tell the truth just opinions.

[Masked Superstar]

Fox 5 news did attempt to interview the woman and her child but from what I am being told by several people who know this lady is that she declined as she did not want to have her face on camera. Also, the reporter who did this storty attempted more than a dozen times to interview the arresting officers but they declined as well.

While I am not saying the accused is guilty or innocent, the Fairfax County Police in general have more degenerate and rogue police officers working for them then straws in a bracket of hay. I have been stopped by a few of these rogue officers in Fairfax County and the rationale given was because of the car ( a Mercedes 2008) I was driving and the fact that I was of a certain color/race and the time of night. This to me is a ton of BS. I have also witnessed many of these same supposedly law-protecting Fairfax County Police pose as Federal Agents during routine traffic stops which by the way is a Federal Crime which is a Felony based on USC Criminal Code.

In short I and many other citizens feel that the Fairfax County Police department needs a complete and immediate overall in terms of their policing powers and how things are handled with Misdemeanor Crimes and what not. I was attending a dinner at a friend's house in Hyattsville, Maryland last weekend ( he is a PG County Sgt and his wife works with the Federal Protective Service) when seven uniformed Fairfax County Police came to this man's house to serve a Warrant for a his arrest for missing court. My friend did not argue but instead called for backup from the PG County Police and his wife called FPS and when these other officers arrived, the cowardness and yellow-strips that is well-known for some of these Fairfax County Police showed so greatly as they not were beaten up but left their vehicles behind. Fairfax County Police really need to change alot and start obeying the law and instead of breaking the laws.

[Frank IBC]

Rombo -

I strongly suspect that you don't really understand what "trespassing" means, nor its legal implications.

[Beth]

I take it you want Rombo to understand that being on someone's property is not necessarily trespassing. Fair enough.

Would it really be safe to assume that you understand the difference between nudity and indecent exposure (obscene display), and the legal implications thereof?

[Jon]

Frank IBC - The most idiotic thing here is you. GTFO.

Just so you know, there are more situations where trespassing is illegal and actionable than you let on; you clearly don't know what you're talking about.

[Robert]

Sounds like there are some details here that still need to be worked out. Thanks...

[Tess]

He's hot - and can walk around naked next to me any day

[Otis Gudlyfe]

Does VA's 'Indecent Exposure' law define "private parts?" If not, it runs the risk of being 'unconstitutionally vague.'

[Tom Peeping]

Aren't there more stringent peeping tom laws?

[Don Juan]

OK, serious question: I just made a cup of Earl Grey tea in just my socks and underwear(boxer briefs). My shutter was partially closed and partially open. It was light outside, but partially dark in here. My piano light was on. There is a bus stop 1 block away (not a school bus..public transport). People of all ages use the public bus system. The mailman (woman) may have seen me...but I don't think anyone else did, but I'm not sure. Am I in danger?? What is the legal option here?

[Andy]

Exactly how low was this window? I mean none of ours other then the picture window in the living room are low enough to tell if a person is nude or wearing boxers. Police sited intent, but can they prove intent to be seen. Again there is the matter of the trespassing on private property and the fact these folks were obviously purposely looking towards the windows with intent to see inside and determine if this guy was in fact naked. Does that not make them peeping Tom's as well? Ask me they arrested the wrong pervert and mom should be ashamed for not teaching the child to be a law abiding citizen and respect the privacy of others.

[BIG DADDY]

HECK, WHEN ME & MY LADY MAKE LOVE THE DRAPES FALL FROM BEDROOM WINDOW,BUT HEY I DON'T STOP TO HANG THEM BACK UP. NOBODY SHOULD BE IN MY YARD,PATH OR USING BINOCULARS TO SEE BIG DADDY AND HIS LADY IN MY OWN HOUSE.

[llc]

Anyone who looks into someone else s house while cutting across his yard should be charged with being a Peeping Tom or whatever it is called. I just spent 10 months in a small town in Montana where nobody and I mean nobody closes their curtains. I was very surprised by this but it is their prerogative. People just do not look in their neighbor's house. Think about all the people who sleep in the nude. I doubt everybody always grabs clothes or a robe to run to the bathroom in the middle of the night or to grab coffee in the morning. Why should they? It is their home. It doesn't matter a whit what the background of the person in the house is. It is still their house and anybody peeking in should be charged. Private property, etc.

I am seriously upset by the implications of this incident. IF this country ever gets to the point we can charge people for what they wear or do not wear in their own home, it will be a travesty of all of American Citizens Rights.

To IBC: A woman and her 7-year-old daughter had cut across Williamson's front yard and saw him through his kitchen window. This in itself should have negated any charge.

[llc]

Cutting between houses is illegal in some areas. It is still on private property. Standing in a doorway? So what. Actually 8:30 is a better time as most kids are already in school at that time. Schools usually start by 8:00. But 5:30 or 8:30 shouldn't make a difference. It shouldn't make a difference if it was his front door. Turn your head.

[Becky from Vermont]

People In Glass Houses is insane. This country is founded on the principle that our property is ours and we CAN do what we want to on it. If I want to make coffee naked, I should be able to. Just because a house has windows doesn't mean that it is for people to look in. I have windows in my house so I can look out...You sir are a true Fascist.

[Roger]

If the woman was so shocked the first time, why did she look a second time? Did she secretly want to see him nude again? Her story is weird. He was inside his own home!

[Fubar]

Beth, you are an idiot. Go nibble some sedge. You can get one of those lady cops to stop you perhaps.

[fletchbubba]

Everyone is forgetting a very important point in this whole story. If any of you knew the defendant you (every one of you) would change the way they are thinking (at least the ones that are on his side). He is one of the worst people I have ever known in my life. He put his daughter's picture on the internet for every pervert in the country to see. All I can say is if you knew him you would change your whole way of thinking in regards to this story. There is a lot more involved than a man walking around in the nude, it has more to do with what is in his head (or not in his head). Just consider that there is a lot more to this story than nudity.

[Gustav]

IF he made the extra effort to make certain he was seen -- as in posing in his open doorway or window -- then he is guilty of indecent exposure.

IF his property was posted OR if he had previously told the woman to stay off it, she could then be arrested for trespass.

I have seldom seen such a group of ignorant asses who knew nothing of the law, but let their feeble emotions rule them.

[Markus]

haha, you are all so funny.
In Western Europe nobody would give a shit. Take care of your guns, get your homocide rate down, reduce child abuse, stop producing hard core porn, get a healthcare system, stop exporting wars ("democracy") etcetera.
On European websites you are now the laughing stock of the world. relaxed dealing with sexuality does not lead to abuse, making it secret and dirty does. Free and democratic America...hahahahahahaha

[Markus]

and besides: In the Netherlands for example many houses have no curtains since it is considered normal no to look into other people's houses and if you do it's your problem...
Bring the woman to Western Europe and in 1 week she will be fighting 100 lawsuits LoL

[llcasey]

Okay, venting on a blog is fine and good but if you want to make a difference, look up your State Senators' email addresses and let them know how you feel about this situation. I remember when it was all the female's fault, no matter what. Now it is all the male's fault, no matter what. I have a son and I worry about him and my husband for that matter. I just put up more secure curtains because of this. There are still laws on the books in various areas regarding acceptable positions for sex. If somebody can look in your house and charge you with indecent exposure then what else can you be charged with? I have already written my state senators. Have you?

[Jacob]

He should file counter charges of trespassing and peeping tom

[Locomotion15]

This lady obviously doesn't realize that, if this guy is convicted, he may become a sex offender and the rest of his life is ruined. Also, this while thing should be turned around on her for 1) Trespassing and 2)exposing her child to unlawful acts (trespassing) which I assume is some kind of law somewhere. The guy did nothing wrong! I support him!

[llcasey]

Oh, I guess I did not say that I wrote to my senators in favor of the man charged with the indecent exposure. You can write to your senators in his support. This whole thing is ridiculous and should never have happened.

[llcasey]

Ah Marcus, I wholeheartedly agree with you. I went to a college art show a few years ago in heartland America, and the kids had to remove some of their work. They were nude drawings. If America had an artist such as Michelangelo they would have made him put clothes on his statues. LOL Sad, Sad, Sad

[someguy]

The lady that even called the police should be hunted down and beat. What a pathetic excuse of a woman she is. Americans are so behind the rest of the world in regards to nudity its crazy. She should be arrested for trespassing if anything. If she didnt want to see the guy naked then she shouldnt stand there looking through the window. To fletchbubba you are a moron sir. What does child support have to do with this situation. Nothing. People need to quit looking for a reason to support these ridiculous charges and get a clue.

[rich]

This reflects what is wrong with this country. Peering through someone's window could be deemed invasion of privacy, yet they arrest someone making coffee in their own kitchen. It is the lady peeping through the window and invading privacy should be in jail, and of course the stupid ass police and local prosecutor. The sad testimony is that our nation has gone too far in the puritanical witch hunt carried out by those who try to define the values and norms everyone else should live by.

[DC]

There was a similar incident--I forget the particulars-- some years ago--but the guy was acquitted by a panel of judges who held that he was in his own home and therefore not guilty of indecent exposure.

[Bill Shaw]

While this guy's case may have some issues with it, the precedent is still scary. We have a 6-8 foot wall around our property, and I sunbathe in the buff all the time.. If someone were to climb the wall to take a peek, or sneek a look through a crack in the gate and I could be arrested relaxing at home it is a little scary. This country is far too uptight about nudity in general and should take a cue from Europe, where casual nudity is no big deal, with sunbathing in the nude allowed in areas of public parks in Munich.

[MARK]

I OFTEN FILL MY COFFEE CUP IN THE MORNING RIGHT AFTER I GET OUT IF THE SHOWER NAKED.IF SOMEONE WHERE LOOKING IN MY WINDOWS I WOULD BE THE ONE CALLING THE COPS. UNLESS SHE WAS GOOD LOOKING OF COURSE, LOL

[Yad]

I'm obviously with the clear majority on this one - regardless if you're trespassing or not (which imo she was), if you decide to look into someone else's private property then it is you and not the person you saw who must pay the consequences. I think this should apply even if the guy was making some obscene gesture - he's still within the confines of his own private home, and you can look away just as easily as you looked in.

Unfortunately, it seems that USA and UK have extremely outdated laws - and societal/cultural conceptions - regarding nudity/naturism: too many uptight fuddy-duddies are unable to accept that the nude human form is the most natural way to be human, it's the way we were created, and absolutely NOBODY can ever be harmed just by seeing a person in their natural, unclothed state. I acknowledge that this article and thread do not intend to deal with nudism as their primary topic, but it is fundamentally woven around the issues raised here, so I would like to say that I would like to be able to proclaim myself as a nudist - I practise it around the home whenever I can - but I am just so scared that I will get arrested and put on the sex offender's register just because some mega-prude decides the human body is sacrilegious and should be banned from existence.

As others have stated, much of mainland Europe has managed to remove itself from the dark ages and permits non-sexual nudity in many public areas, and it is proven that these countries have no problems arising from doing so. So why is it so bloody difficult for the UK and the USA to catch up with modern times? God, these law makers and enforcers really frustrate me sometimes.

[foxy]

why not turn away from the nude person,and walk on.you don't have to look in someones doorway when you pass by.

[Anonymous]

He should not be charged because in all reality it's his own home, therefore they were peeping...If anything they should be fined for peeping through an open window. If it were a women naked in her house and a pervert was staring through the window I guarantee things would be different... Why are people so uptight about nudity? In all reality it's natural, people in other countries walk around nude and there are even nude beaches in some parts of America..

[Top]

This is ridiculous. The man was in his own home making coffee. Who cares what time it was. And also, why are people so afraid of nudity? I'm nude right now because I'm in my apartment. I'm sure there's a way someone could angle and look in the window from a distance and see me. But I'm not doing anything wrong. If the dude wasn't touching himself or erect then how is it indecent? Why is nudity (especially in ones home) bad? All animals are nude can we site them all? My dog has his penis out all the time should I call the cops on him?! I mean come on.

[leigh]

they were treapassing on his property and the constitution protects that man if they find him quilty or not he could turn around and sue them for treapassing on his property for that is against the law why are they not getting charged but he was on private property and if they find him quilty then they are telling everyone that they cant have sex or shower on their property if they have a window in their bathroom for that is also indecent exposure and that first of all is discusting and illegal they can get sued the police and everyone that finds him quilty. they arrested him wrongly and that is put by the law not my opion even though i think that to and i hope he sues people.

[Drew]

i think that is the most fucked up thing i have ever heard of its his house and his yard

[Philip]

So it's totally okay to convict the man for being naked at home, even though the woman was looking through his window? To actually justify what sounds extremely stupid, the window would have to have the curtains open or the man would have to be flashing his junk at them. If not, then what the heck was this woman doing looking in? It would seem that she might need to be arrested as well.

[Megan]

This is beyond ridiculous!!! Getting arrested for being naked in your own home?! Come on! Since when did nudity become harmful to children? Never. This lady needs to grow up!!!!

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[I-Diots]

one of the reasons why the hell i would hate to live with so retarded people, naked? whats the big fucking deal? i wouldn't care if there would be walking naked people around cities. in finland, where i live, if i would go to swimming bath's sauna, which SOME of them are for both genres, would anyone charge anyone for being naked in there(and yes, we go to sauna naked,not even a towel, pussies)?
well, yes if that would've happen in usa. but no-one here, because we don't give a fuck, at all, and we're not that stupid. and i'm not saying that you all in usa are stupid. no. not at all, i just find a lot from there, seriously, A LOT. still a lot of intelligent people, that's for sure. i know many of them, i just don't get whats the fucking idea of possibility to charge anyone of anything. it's fucked. that's been a problem for a long time, and i still don't get why the hell you idiots don't fix that problem. "duhhh this is free country" you still can't be fucking naked in your private places, idiots. charging people for being naked and charging people for that their dog took a shit on their yard. it's fucked. and if you got the idea that i meant theres not stupid people in finland, oh fuck yes, there is. surrounded of them.

[dennis teel]

if you're in your house,your nudity is fine as long as it is associated with being non public..you stand in your doorway or in the middle of your living room with your door wide open and can be seen clearly from outside then it IS illegal.it becomes public at that time.certainly you can understand the reason why!!

[Demon]

wow being arrested just for being naked in your own home, whats the world coming to, next you won't be able to walk around without a shirt on or you'll be registed as a sex offende. Really whoever that lady was obviously likes trespassing and calling the cops on people for stupid reasons. Seriously grow up and stop looking through other peoples windows!!!

[WTF]

All you have to do is look at the facts, the man was in his own home, and the mother and son walked by and happened to see him, there is no crime here. Unless the man was in the window shaking it at them he has done nothing illegal.

[Ernie]

So let's review, this woman was Trespassing, Peeping in his window and the police are aiding after the fact. This woman is a criminal. What part of the Middle East did this happen in?