PCSO on nudity dispute: ‘He used his discretion to not take an old man to jail’
PCSO: Deputy uses ‘discretion’ to not jail elderly nude sunbather
A Pinal County sheriff’s deputy declined to arrest a 76-year-old man seen sunbathing naked below the waist in his driveway, citing the man’s age and deputy discretion. The man claimed he was tanning.
PINAL COUNTY, Ariz. - The Pinal County Sheriff’s Office has declined to arrest a 76-year-old man who was seen sunbathing naked below the waist in his driveway, citing deputy discretion and the man’s age.
What they're saying:
A deputy responded to a call in the Johnson Ranch neighborhood on Dec. 19 where he witnessed the man partially nude in public view. According to the sheriff’s office, the man explained he was attempting to tan.
The unidentified man reportedly told a neighbor that his backyard did not receive enough sunlight.
Attorney Benjamin Taylor talks San Tan Valley nudity dispute
FOX 10 Anchors Brian Webb and Ashlie Rodriguez talk with Arizona criminal defense attorney Benjamin Taylor about a case in Pinal County where a man was photographed sunbathing nude from the waist down.
"On December 19, PCSO received a report about an elderly man sitting in his driveway exposing himself without any underwear. A deputy arrived and talked to the 76-year-old who said he would not do it again. The deputy called Adult Protective Services to further investigate his mental state. No legal victims wanted to press charges. A neighbor who reported the incident said she did not want to press charges yet because her ‘intention was not to have an old man go to jail,'" the sheriff's office said in various statements to FOX 10.
When FOX 10 asked why the man wasn't charged with a crime if the deputy saw him nude, it said, "He used his discretion to not take an old man to jail. Arizona Adult Protective Services will be looking into his mental state further."
The neighbor who reported the incident, Barbara, said the sheriff's office saying she didn't want to press charges isn't true.
"This account is inaccurate and needs to be corrected," she said.
What's next:
The case has been referred to Adult Protective Services to evaluate the man's well-being following repeated complaints from neighbors who say the behavior has occurred in the presence of children.
San Tan Valley neighbor accused of going nude below the waist in driveway
Controversy is brewing in San Tan Valley, where a man living in the community apparently likes to sun himself in his own driveway while wearing nothing from the waist down.