Police officer handcuffing man in jeans and plaid shirt during street arrest.

Posted on August 13, 2023

Indecent Exposure and Aggravated Indecent Exposure in Michigan

Indecent Exposure charges are far more common than you might think. Of all the criminal offenses a person can face, few strike as much fear and embarrassment into the heart of a person facing it as either an indecent exposure or an aggravated indecent exposure charge.

My team and I have never met anyone charged with indecent exposure who wasn’t completely mortified and sincerely remorseful about the whole thing.

If you are facing an indecent exposure or aggravated indecent exposure charge in the Greater-Detroit area, meaning anywhere in Wayne, Oakland, Macomb or the surrounding counties, we can genuinely help make things better for you.

Our firm has extensive experience with indecent exposure cases in the Metro-Detroit area:

We have represented countless men charged with these offenses in our 30-plus years.

My team and I have kept every client charged with either indecent exposure or aggravated indecent exposure out of jail.

We know exactly what to do to protect you, your job, and your record.

Although it’s generally more “politically correct” to be gender neutral, the overwhelming majority of indecent exposure charges are made against men. This is a simple, statistical fact.

Our blog is the single best resource for real information about these cases. It is comprehensive and fully searchable. Within the Indecent Exposure and Aggravated Indecent Exposure section of our blog, the reader can learn pretty much any and everything about 2 charges.

THE FACTS AND THE LAW

Here’s the bottom line, in simple terms:

Indecent Exposure is a misdemeanor offense, punishable by up to 93 days in jail and a fine of up to $500, plus court costs. Often referred to as “simple” Indecent Exposure, this is the old familiar charge that typically refers to “getting caught with your pants down,” and encompasses any kind of exposure, including things like being caught urinating behind the dumpster all the way to outright “flashing.”
Aggravated Indecent Exposure, by contrast, is a felony. This Offense carries a maximum of up to 2 years in the state prison, and a fine of up to $2000, plus court costs. “Aggravated,” in this situation, requires fondling one’s genitals, meaning anything that could be described as a person’s “privates.”

Most often, indecent exposure incidents have little or nothing to do with any kind of outright sexual enterprise. Instead, they are frequently the byproduct of some hidden stress or stresses in men’s lives. Sometimes, these things just get the better of them. When that pressure bubbles to the surface (even if it cause by an underlying sexual frustration or urge of some sort), it can cause some of them to “act out” in ways they later regret.

Some indecent exposure cases involve a simple “displaying” of one’s genitals. Others involve fondling behavior that is done for “shock” value.

In recent years, an increasing percentage of charges are “aggravated” and involve an allegation of fondling. Sometimes, this is just an extension of that “shock value” element. Other times, the police just happen upon a man trying for a little “alone time” while masturbating in his car, or meeting up in a park or somewhere else.

That’s when he learn his spot wasn’t as private a place as he had hoped.

UNDERSTANDING WHY IT HAPPENED

For all the analysis one could do about this, the bottom line is that sometimes, these things just happen….

Then, a guy finds himself confronting a lot of potential legal penalties and negative consequences. A conviction for indecent exposure or aggravated indecent exposure is serious. The range of emotions a person will experience include fear, humiliation, and regret. The thought of being labeled with an indecent exposure conviction can scare someone as much as the potential punishment.

All of our clients who face an indecent exposure charge have jobs. Many of them have rather good jobs. Plenty have college degrees. Some have families. Others will point to a breakup or divorce as part of the stress that led up to their “incident.”

Whatever else, our clients are almost always people who could honestly be considered men with a lot to lose.

WE WILL PUT YOU AT EASE

When someone calls us about an indecent exposure charge, we can almost feel his embarrassment. The fear on the other end of the phone is often palpable. Our first order of business is to help the caller calm down. We want them to know that, whatever else, we’re here to help. We’ll keep them out of jail. They’ll walk out the front door of the courthouse with us, not out the back door, in handcuffs.

If you’re facing either an indecent exposure or aggravated indecent exposure charge, my team and I will do what’s necessary to protect you. We’ll guard your record so that you aren’t “branded” by a moment of poor decision making. We understand the ramifications such a charge can have for a person’s employment opportunities, We will work tirelessly to make sure this episode won’t haunt you forever.

We fully realize that just picking up that phone and making the call is stressful. My team and I WILL help you, and WILL protect you. Once you call us, we’ll take over, put you at ease, and put the case in order.

Of course, we’ll need to get to know you, and find out how this whole situation came about. We’ll work to figure out how it fits into the bigger picture of your life. And that’s not just double-talk, either. It may seem that the whole court system is standing ready to pounce on you.

We’ll make sure that doesn’t happen.

RESULTS

Keeping you out of jail is really the easy part for my team and I. We’ll protect you. We’ll use our experience to keep you out of any kind of unnecessary counseling until the stars burn out. The last thing you need is to get stuck with a long and difficult period of probation that requires long-term treatment, especially for a problem you DON’T have.

Our job is to limit the fallout of an indecent exposure charge as much possible, and NOBODY does it better than us.

While its’ true that indecent exposure and aggravated indecent exposure charges are more common than you may think, the results my team and I can produce for you are nothing short of exceptional.

About the Author

Jeff has been a practicing Michigan criminal lawyer, DUI attorney and driver’s license restoration lawyer for more than 30 years. He is passionate about winning and doing whatever it takes to accomplish that. He understands that a pending criminal or DUI charge is stressful and that being unable to legally drive is a huge problem.