Banning home nudity

The Naked Coffee Guy

Erick Williamson says he woke up early in the morning on October 19 to pack because he was in the process of moving out of his townhouse in Springfield, Virginia. Since his roommates had already left for the day, he didn't feel obligated to put on clothes. Instead he went about his business—cleaning, making coffee, eating his breakfast—in the nude.

Unfortunately for Williamson, two witnesses seem to have seen him in a state of undress through uncovered windows that morning. The first was a neighbor who says she spotted Williamson while driving by his house around 6:15 a.m. She called the police, who came to investigate but saw nothing. The second witness was a woman who said she saw Williamson while walking by his home with her son at 8:40 a.m. When the second witness notified authorities, police broke into Williamson's home, arrested him, and charged him with indecent exposure.

At Williamson's trial in December, his attorney argued that "nudity in one's home is not a crime," adding, "If you're in a private place and take your clothes off, you have not committed a crime." Apparently, you have. Williamson was convicted of "intentional nudity" in his own home and received a suspended sentence of 180 days in jail. Williamson plans to appeal.

In the course of the trial, Williamson declared that he had no intention of exposing himself to the public. Fairfax County General District Court Judge Ian M. O'Flaherty wasn't impressed with this argument. Likening Williamson to a notorious bank robber, O'Flaherty pointed out that John Dillinger "thought he was doing nothing wrong when he walked into banks and shot them up."