And in the States today...nudity at home

Tuesday 31 October 2017

At what point does being naked in your own home constitute an offence? One of Jersey’s most senior legal minds is to bare all on the subject in the States Assembly today.

Islanders took to social media in outrage last month after it was revealed that a man had been taken to court after his neighbour spotted him naked through the window of his apartment earlier this month.

He had been pleasuring himself while lying on his bed with the lights on and curtains open around midnight on a weekend. The neighbour took a photo and alerted her husband before later reporting the incident, which was said to have lasted around 45 minutes.

Having pleaded guilty to indecent exposure on the basis that his actions were “reckless”, the man was bound over for 12 months in the Magistrate's Court.

Pictured: The man was bound over for 12 months after his neighbour spotted him naked on his bed at home.

Upon hearing the news, hundreds of islanders denounced the sentence, and questioned why he was charged for something that occurred in the privacy of his own home. One islander even set up a petition against the conviction, which has so far been signed by more than 925 people.

Now St Helier Deputy Scott Wickenden is set to grill the Attorney General - the island’s chief prosecutor and head of the Honorary Police - on the matter.

He will ask: “What considerations apply in deciding to bring a charge against a person naked in their own home who can be seen by a member of the public?”

The Attorney General, Robert Macrae, will give an answer during the States Assembly this morning, which can be viewed live here.