Why Am I Charged with Lewdness?
In New Jersey, lewdness applies if your genitals were exposed for the purpose of sexual gratification or to get aroused. You may also be charged with a disorderly persons offense if you committed a lewd or offensive act without the purpose of sexual gratification. The prosecution has to prove that you committed an offensive act, that a non-consenting person saw the act, and that the non-consenting person was offended by the act. Charges for lewdness may stem from the following:
- Intercourse or another sexual act in a public place
- Intercourse or another sexual act in a private place, but visible to others (your vehicle or in front of a window)
- Exposure (flashing)
- Being nude in your yard or home when others can see you
- Being nude in public
Police may arrest you for lewdness if you were urinating in public or otherwise exposed yourself without any intent to sexually gratify yourself or a partner. Lewdness charges can easily result from an event you didn’t realize was offensive. You may have been unaware that anyone was nearby or that what you were doing was a lewd act. Our attorneys have extensive experience with sex crime cases of this nature, and we will be at your side to defend you aggressively.
Potential Defenses for Lewdness in New Jersey
Each case is unique, but sometimes lewdness charges are dropped or reduced based on one of the following defenses:
- You didn’t intend for the exposure to be public
- There wasn’t sexual motivation behind the exposure
- The act isn’t specifically criminal
- No one was offended by the act
- The act wasn’t performed in the open
Potential Penalties for Lewdness in New Jersey
Without an experienced lewdness defense lawyer to build your case, you are likely to suffer the following consequences:
- Jail time
- Fines
- Probation
- Mandatory community service
- Loss of driving privileges
Lewdness Defense Lawyers in NJ Can Help
If you were charged with lewdness in New Jersey, you should contact our experienced lewdness defense attorneys as soon as possible. We will review the details of your case and let you know what all of your options are moving forward. We may recommend a strategy to get your charges reduced so that it won’t appear on a criminal record. We may recommend fighting to get the charges dropped. There are many other possible ways to resolve your case in the best way possible.
If you have been charged with lewdness and live in Newark, Jersey City or the surrounding areas, please call the experienced criminal defense attorneys at Clark & Noonan, LLC at 732-333-3011, to arrange your free consultation.