Michigan Indecent Exposure Charges and Legal Implications

By Jeffrey Randa

  |  

Indecent Exposure and Aggravated Indecent Exposure

  |  

Published on Nov 07, 2024

My team and I handle a lot of indecent and aggravated indecent exposure cases. For about the last decade, more of these cases have been brought as the felony offense of aggravated indecent exposure, while the number the misdemeanor (simple) indecent exposure charges has simultaneously decreased. (from here on, I will often refer to either or both as “IE”.)

Let’s begin with the simple truth is that it’s almost always men facing indecent exposure or aggravated indecent exposure charges. In this article, we’ll take a look at both IE offenses, and see how these cases work out in the real world. At the top of this page, you’ll find a short video about them.

The very fact that we see less simple indecent exposure charges and more of the aggravated variety makes a good starting point. Just as about everything goes up in price over time, it seems that criminal laws always get tougher. Criminal offenses are easy targets for politicians, because there is never any partisan divide over wanting to protect the public by cracking down on drunk drivers, flashers, or the like.

Being tough on crime looks good on politician’s resume. None of them wants to be seen as “soft.”

The key difference between the 2 IE offenses is that simple indecent exposure is a misdemeanor offense that carries a maximum penalty of up to 1 year in jail.

By contrast, aggravated indecent exposure is felony carrying a maximum term of 2 years in prison.

Before the reader starts freaking out, let me be clear: My team and I have handled countless IE cases, and we have NEVER had a client go to jail or prison as a result of being convicted of either one of them. This sounds a lot worse than it is.

Another thing that scares people is fear of having to register as a sex offender. Fortunately, that’s almost never on the menu, either. I want this to be crystal clear about this:

A person convicted of either indecent exposure or aggravated indecent exposure will NOT register as a sex offender except in the following circumstances:

1. 1. If a victim (meaning someone who saw the exposure) is a minor, or
   2. If the person is also convicted of the separate criminal charge of being a “sexually delinquent person,” or
   3. If the person, at the time of the incident, was already a registered tier 1 or tier 2 sex offender.

In the real world, this rules out about 99% of all indecent exposure and aggravated indecent exposure defendants. Unless someone facing an IE charge already has a sex crimes record, then the only risk for having to register is that someone who saw the exposure was under 18 years of age. That’s rare enough to make it a waste of time discussing it here.

In addition to the potential (but unlikely) jail and/or prison sentence, under Michigan law, indecent exposure carries a maximum fine of up to $1000.

The potential fine for aggravated indecent exposure rises to $2000.

Whatever else, when you include legal fees and other associated costs, along with a fine, these cases are not cheap. Still, the choice between going to jail or paying money is a no-brainer.

For as interesting as all that may be, none of it explains why there are so many more aggravated indecent exposure charges, rather than simple indecent exposure charges these days. It has been more than 10 years since the felony charge of aggravated indecent exposure was added to the indecent exposure law. The trend is that an increasing proportion of people are being charged with the more serious offense.

This undoubtedly reflects a shift in societal attitudes that is less tolerant of things like driving drunk, exposing one’s self (especially for a guy), and engaging in other sexually assaultive or offensive behavior. With the exception of the legalization of marijuana (and remember, that was through a vote of the people, not the legislature), any notion of “protecting the public” has strong PR appeal to politicians.

Also, the simple truth is that a guy exposing himself is almost sure to cause some kind of negative reaction. Women popping their tops at Mardi Gras to cheering crowds is one thing, but when a man displays his “junk” to an unsuspecting person (usually, it’s a woman) it really is quite another.

No matter what, there is an undeniable “yuck” factor about this behavior, and anyone facing either an indecent exposure or an aggravated indecent exposure charge knows and feels this now, even though they probably didn’t think that part of things through before having acted out.

Whatever circumstance may lead to someone being charged, nobody is going to update their dating or professional profile by highlighting a conviction for an IE offense. We’ll get into some of the psychological considerations later, but it’s undeniable that an indecent or aggravated indecent exposure charge is embarrassing and regrettable.

Our job, as criminal lawyers, is to make as much of that embarrassment, regret, and potential legal fallout as possible go away.

Getting busted while out on a boat and peeing off the side is one thing, and that does happen from time to time. However, it is otherwise an urban legend that people are routinely charged with indecent exposure for being caught urinating behind a building.

In more than years as a lawyer, and having personally handled more IE cases than any lawyer I know, I can only recall one “peeing” on land case, and it had more to do with the guy being drunk and relieving himself in plain sight rather than anything else.

In other words, the overwhelming majority of these cases arise either because a guy is “flashing” in some way, or the gets discovered engaging in some self-pleasure (we’ve had cases where a guy thinks he’s parked far enough away from everybody for a little “alone time,” only to be discovered by the police).

Once in a while, we’ll see an IE case involving 2 people getting frisky, but those are far more the exception, rather than the rule.

I point this out because it’s not uncommon for a man to initially try and explain how an exposure was “accidental.” Sure, if 2 people are getting busy in a car, they may, in the heat of the moment, forget the outside world enough to be exposed, or the guy satisfying himself may have miscalculated his parking spot.

However, as I just noted, those situations are far more the exception, rather than the rule. The reader wouldn’t believe the convoluted stories we’ve heard from guys trying to explain how some lady, looking out her window, wound up seeing his penis.

This part is critical: Despite the inherent “yuck” factor of these cases, after more than 3 decades of practicing law, I have come to the conclusion that most IE offenses (or at least most of the situations for which we are hired) ARE NOT the result of any kind of underlying psychological or sexual pathology.

This is important because part of the shock and concern that surrounds these cases is some notion that the guy is a pervert, or worse yet, some kind of predator.

This is not without a bit of irony in it for me, because my undergraduate degree is in psychology, and my post-graduate studies, after law school, were in the field of psychology as well. Because of that education, I am naturally inclined to look for the reasons (or some kind underlying pathology) to explain a particular behavior. Of course, there is, in a sense, a “psychology” to every choice we make as human beings, but I don’t think each one requires a complicated explanation.

In fact, I think it’s often rather simple (but overlooked) in IE cases: people blow off steam in all kinds of ways. Some guys go out and get drunk, while other guys may punch a wall. Some guys don’t get drunk, or hit anyone or anything, but act out in other ways.

After sitting across from so many men dealing with IE charges, I completely believe those that say they really don’t know what got into them to do it. That’s not to say there wasn’t some underlying stressor that got the better of them, but those kinds of things often work beneath a person consciousness.

Usually, having to go through the legal process is more than enough for a fellow to realize that he needs to manage his or her behavior and reactions differently. In other words, not everything that leads a guy to pick up an IE charge needs to “fixed” with endless therapy. As an old bumper sticker put it, sometimes, “$hit happens.”

There are times when a guy just goes out and does something stupid, and that’s all there is to it.

Not every stupid action is the sign of a deep, underlying problem. Moreover, we don’t have to label and treat everything, either. A Judge pointing the finger at an IE defendant, saying, “don’t do this again, because next time, you’re going to jail” is most often the perfect remedy, and more than enough to prevent any recurrence.

The biggest fear in these cases is what’s called “progression.” It’s well known that many serial killers start out by torturing small animals. Many sexual predators (think rapists) also start out small. This always gives rise to the question of whether an IE incident is just that, or the early stages of a mindset that is dangerous.

Fortunately, the vast majority of IE offenders are NOT sexual predators. I’ve handled cases for men who were serial “flashers,” meaning that the problem they had was limited to exposing themselves.

Sometimes, it’s important to be able to really show the court that the person is not on a predatory path. Of course, every guy will swear up and down to the judge that it won’t happen again, but sometimes, more is needed to make the point. Because of our extensive experience in these cases, my team and I know exactly when and how to do that.

If you are facing an IE charge, make sure you contact our office. We are very friendly people who will be glad to answer your questions, explain things, and provide you with a free, confidential consultation over the phone – right when you call.

You can reach us by phone, Monday through Friday, from 8:30 AM until 5:00 PM, or anytime using the contact form.