bloodygurl02
08-29-2004, 03:20 PM
Underwear in Public Not Indecent, Court Says
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - Wearing underwear and nothing else in public does not constitute indecency, a Massachusetts court declared on Thursday as it tossed out charges against six animal rights protesters.
Members of the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were arrested and charged with indecency and disturbing the peace after a chilly rally in March near Harvard University where they stripped to their skivvies and staged a nearly naked pillow fight to protest against fur.
Six months and three court dates later, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, judge threw out the indecency charges against all six PETA members.
All but one of the protesters -- PETA Vice President Dan Mathews -- were also cleared of disturbing the peace. Mathews was ordered to pay a $300 fine.
Mathews told Reuters he was relieved that the indecent exposure charges were dismissed, noting that a conviction on such a charge would have forced him and the other demonstrators to register as sex offenders in Massachusetts.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (Reuters) - Wearing underwear and nothing else in public does not constitute indecency, a Massachusetts court declared on Thursday as it tossed out charges against six animal rights protesters.
Members of the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals were arrested and charged with indecency and disturbing the peace after a chilly rally in March near Harvard University where they stripped to their skivvies and staged a nearly naked pillow fight to protest against fur.
Six months and three court dates later, a Cambridge, Massachusetts, judge threw out the indecency charges against all six PETA members.
All but one of the protesters -- PETA Vice President Dan Mathews -- were also cleared of disturbing the peace. Mathews was ordered to pay a $300 fine.
Mathews told Reuters he was relieved that the indecent exposure charges were dismissed, noting that a conviction on such a charge would have forced him and the other demonstrators to register as sex offenders in Massachusetts.