A 32-year-old man has been arrested for lewd conduct at a Los Angeles public pool. According to a news report in the Los Angeles Times, the lewd conduct arrest occurred at the Ted Watkins Memorial Park Pool on East 103rd Street in Los Angeles. The alleged lewd behavior involved four girls between the ages of 9 and 13. Lifeguards at the pool informed the authorities of the man’s behavior. All four girls told police that the man touched them “on areas of their body that made them uncomfortable.”
Under California Penal Code Section 647, it is a misdemeanor for “anyone to engage in or who engages in lewd or dissolute conduct in any public place or in any place open to the public or exposed to public view.” The penalties for a lewd act may be stepped up if the victim is a minor.
California Penal Code Section 288 states that “any person who willfully and lewdly commits any lewd or lascivious act upon or with the body, or any part or member thereof, of a child who is under the age of 14 years, with the intent of arousing, appealing to, or gratifying the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person or the child, is guilty of a felony.”
These serious allegations can have serious, long-term consequences including prison time, fines and mandatory registration as a sex offender. Anyone who is facing lewd behavior charges in California would be well advised to seek legal guidance from a skilled criminal defense attorney.
The experienced Los Angeles sex crime defense attorneys at Sitkoff & Hanrahan have a long history of handling lewd behavior and other sex crime cases in Los Angeles. Call our offices today at 866-430-8383 for a free consultation and case evaluation.