In August, a Boulder high school teacher was arrested for Indecent Exposure, C.R.S. 18-7-302. Several news reports carried the story of the allegations concerning the teacher visiting garage sales wearing shorts with no underwear. The allegations state that he would kneel down, make eye contact with a person then turn his body to expose his genitals.
In Boulder, Denver, or Douglas County Indecent Exposure is a class 1 misdemeanor, if it is a first offense. In this man’s situation, a conviction for this offense may have other serious repercussions to his teaching license and career.
I am reminded of the movie “Le Miserables” every time I think of the real consequences of any criminal conviction. Jean Valjean muses, “Yeah! I served my sentence. Now my punishment begins.” If this teacher is found guilty of Indecent Exposure, his maximum sentence from a judge will be six to eighteen months in the Boulder County jail. I would be surprised if he receives any jail sentence for his first offense, but there are more serious issues at stake. In addition to the humiliation he will face with his family and friends, he will likely never work as a teacher in Colorado again, see C.R.S. 2-60.5-107(2.5)(a)(II). He will need to register as a sex offender, and his record will be open to the public for the rest of his life. Most employers do background checks for almost any occupation, and not many are willing to hire a person with an Indecent Exposure conviction or arrest.
I would like to point out one other issue that caught my attention concerning this case. The teacher spoke with the Longmont Police Department. I always tell my clients to never talk with the police. While he made an outright denial of the charges, prosecutors and law enforcement are experts at building their cases. They will leak statements like this because they trigger associations with more famous and familiar denials like “I did not have sexual relations with that woman.” If a person says nothing, nothing can be reported, and nobody can twist your words.
The experienced attorneys at O’Malley Law Office, P.C. have many years of experience from working indecent exposure cases from Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson County, and across the state of Colorado. If you or someone you care about is being accused of any sexual crime, be smart, exercise your right to remain silent, and call us at 303-731-0719. Together we can protect your future.