Recently, Santa Clarita deputies arrested a suspected flasher in Canyon Country. Before the arrest, deputies had received several reports of a flasher in the area and had been actively working on identifying who it was. The man, Christopher Williams, was arrested without incident and taken to the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff Station.
Indecent exposure is covered under California Penal Code 314 PC and is described as willfully exposing one’s genitals to another person, either for the exposing individual’s sexual gratification, or to offend their victim. 314 PC is worded such that it can be interpreted in a great many ways; some of which may not even seem criminal.
For example, if a female were to expose her breasts at the beach to her partner for the partner’s sexual gratification, she could be charged with indecent exposure even though her partner was not offended by the exposure. The reason for this is because the exposure happened in a place where other people were present, and those people could be offended by the action.
Another interesting point about 314 PC is that it requires that an individual exposes their naked body or their bare genitals. Someone who went to a public place wearing only their underwear or a bathing suit, no matter how revealing it happened to be, wouldn’t be charged with violating 314 PC. This is due to the fact that the person was neither naked nor revealing their bare genitals (however, wearing extremely revealing clothing in a public place could constitute a public nuisance and result in charges of violating California Penal Code 372 or 373a). Additionally, women who expose a bare breast for the purposes of breastfeeding are not subject to indecent exposure laws.
314 PC is a misdemeanor for first-time offenders and carries the possible penalties of up to 6-months in county jail and/or a fine of up to $1,000 and the requirement of registering as a sex offender. The crime becomes an automatic felony if an individual commits the act of indecent exposure 2 or more times. The penalties for felony charges of indecent exposure include 16 months to 3-years in California state prison, up to $10,000 in fines and the lifetime duty to register as a sex offender.
