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Police crack down on public indecency By SARAH LEMON Winter's cold hasn't stopped some from dropping their pants in public places. Two men were arrested for masturbating in their vehicles at the Suncrest rest area near Talent last month. And one man was cited and another went to jail after an Oregon State Police trooper found the two performing sex acts behind the rest rooms at Valley of the Rogue State Park. After a year of issuing very few citations for public indecency, state police say they are increasing patrols at the valley's Interstate 5 rest areas, where they believe most of the crimes are happening. "We want to make it safe for the motoring public to pull into a rest area," said OSP Lt. Dan Durbin. A person commits the crime of public indecency if he or she performs an act of sexual intercourse or a "deviate act of sexual intercourse" or exposes his or her genitals with the intent of arousal while in or in view of a public place. Under Oregon law, public indecency is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable with up to a year in prison and a $5,000 fine. "This is nothing that is new," Durbin said. "It's just that it's becoming so flagrant now." Durbin said troopers have seen men performing sexual acts where they could be seen by children and families at rest stops. No specific cases have sparked the increased enforcement effort, Durbin said. A few troopers from the Central Point office have just started spending more time checking out rest areas, particularly during the evening, he said. Statistics on public indecency were not available from the OSP office, but the reports last year were "very few," Durbin said. That's the case elsewhere as well. Talent police said they have had very few problems with public indecency at Lynn Newbry Park, a former hot spot for homosexual activity. Officers targeted patrols in the park, next to I-5, in 1999 and 2000, said Talent Detective Hector Caballero. Jackson County sheriff's deputies took eight reports of indecent exposure last year, most of which happened in campgrounds. Deputies took 12 reports of exposure in 2000. Last year, Medford police took 10 reports of indecent exposurein various parts of the city. From May through December 2000, there were 12 reports. Cases before May 2000 are not available because the police department used to lump indecent exposure statistics with "all other" crimes. But because suspects committing acts of indecent exposure have been known to commit other - and sometimes more violent - sex crimes, it's important that police can track that behavior, said Medford police Lt. Mike Moran. "The bad thing about that indecent exposure is it's very frightening," Moran said. In most cases, male suspects target lone women in a variety of ways, he added. Peeping Toms - people who watch others for sexual gratification - are usually guilty of public indecency, said Medford Sgt. Roy Skinner. However, there aren't any state laws that specifically pertain to peeping Toms. Police usually can't show intent to commit the crime, so they often charge voyeurs with trespassing, Skinner said. Some men visit women's department stores and expose themselves to multiple victims, Skinner said "In their minds, these men think they're attractive to women, believe it or not," Skinner said. Reach reporter Sarah Lemon at 776-4487, or e-mail [email protected]. Nudity, by itself, isn't illegal, but it may rise to the crime of disorderly conduct Last fall, two female high school students streaked across Spiegelberg Stadium in Medford during a football game, clad only in their undergarments. Medford police cited the teens with disorderly conduct since their crime did not fit the category of public indecency. Disorderly conduct is behavior that causes public inconvenience, annoyance or alarm or an action that creates a risk to the public. Like public indecency, it's a misdemeanor. Unlike public indecency, it's not a sex crime and is therefore considered a lesser charge. Police say the following activities can be considered disorderly conduct if they create a public disturbance, but are not otherwise illegal. Nudity - Baring it all for the world to see isn't a crime. Medford police respond to a handful of complaints each year about people who clean house, sunbathe or garden in the nude. Police deal with each situation individually and generally encourage the person to use discretion while in public view. Mooning - It's not illegal to moon, or display one's rear end, in public unless it creates public disorder. Going topless - It's legal for a woman to bare her breasts in public, unless the action creates a public disturbance. Urination - Urinating in public violates Medford's city code but isn't considered a criminal act. It's a violation similar to a traffic ticket or a dog-at-large citation. The violation is punishable through fines. Having sex in a vehicle - It's not a crime to engage in intercourse inside a vehicle. It becomes a crime when done in a place where the public can view the act, said Medford Sgt. Roy Skinner. "There's a big difference between (a couple having sex) while parked on Main Street in the middle of the day, and someone parked far away in the middle of the night," he added. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.