If you’ve been charged with outraging public decency, you need to instruct an expert criminal defence solicitor.
Around 400-500 people are prosecuted for outraging public decency every year in the UK. Being charged with this offence can be very stressful, especially when trying to prove your innocence, which is why it’s essential to instruct an expert criminal defence solicitor.
FAQs
Public decency is a level of social standards that we deem to be socially acceptable.
Offending acts can range from something as minor as urinating in public to more significant offences such as having sex in public or publishing outrageously indecent material. The act just needs to be proven to be lewd, vulgar and disturbing to public standards.
Examples of these offences:
The act of committing an outrage of public decency must have happened in the presence of two or more members of the public. Though the act they witnessed has to be proven to be offensive, the two or more members do not need to have found the act disgusting or annoying for the jury to find you guilty.
The purpose of this rule is to prove that you knowingly committed the offence in a public place and that the act was a display of public indecency, whether the two people were present or not.
Committing public nuisance is slightly different to outraging public decency. It should be proven in the case of public nuisance that you intended to cause, or was reckless about causing a nuisance to the public. This means that you tried intentionally to cause public upset.
Outraging public decency may not intentionally cause any nuisance, but is offensively and knowingly committed in public.
This offence could lead to imprisonment or a fine. For a summary conviction, the maximum sentence for the offence is 6 months in prison.
If sexual acts are included in the crime, then you may have your details put onto the sex offenders registry. Outraging public decency is usually tried at a court of magistrates, but a severe offence could lead to a crown court prosecution and an unlimited imprisonment.
If you are being accused of outraging public decency, our specialist criminal defence solicitors can represent you during a police interview and structure the best defence for your case.
At Britton and Time, our solicitors will ensure that you receive:
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