laws about indecent exposure/public lewdness/age of consent in the 1960s

flowerburgers · Jan 29, 2018

Hi! Here's my question. I have a thread of flashbacks in my WIP focused on the narrator's first sexual relationship, an affair she had at fifteen with her family's twenty-five-year-old gardner...and I'm wondering what would happen if they got caught having sex in a regional park? Obviously it's statutory rape, but would there be practical legal consequences for a man who does this in 1963? I want the relationship to explode...but on an interpersonal level, not a legal level. I'm not sure if having them get caught is the best route to take.

cornflake · Jan 29, 2018

Where are they?

flowerburgers · Jan 29, 2018

I suppose that would be helpful information! They're in Berkeley, CA.

Lakey · Jan 29, 2018

I think there was so much discretion and inconsistency in enforcement of laws around indecent exposure and public lewdness that you could pretty much have any outcome you want for them getting caught and it would be entirely plausible. Cop feels chummy with the guy and lets him go with basically a high-five for nailing a cute young thing? Sure. Cop decides the guy is giving him attitude and hauls them both off on charges? Sure. As long as the guy isn't black and the girl white - that combo would change the calculus quite a bit - either outcome seems equally plausible. (My own research about application of such laws in the 50s and 60s has been in the context of their enforcement against homosexual conduct, and there too, there's just loads of discretion on the part of cops and prosecutors with what they want to do with such charges. Sometimes it's just a threat used to shoo men out of notorious cruising areas with no other consequence. Other times it's a full-blown charge that leads to someone losing his job.)

flowerburgers · Jan 29, 2018

Thanks, Lakey! That's very helpful.

Siri Kirpal · Jan 29, 2018

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

The girl in that situation would have been called "jail bait." It wasn't just how the cops felt about it; it was also whether the parents knew or cared. Parents outraged? Full charges. Parents couldn't care less? Charges dropped.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal, who was born in 1953 and had a father who worked as a probation officer in 1963

blacbird · Jan 30, 2018

Chances are pretty good that many such laws are still on the books, but rarely if ever enforced. I'd start with finding out what the current laws and regulations relative to your situation are, and when they were enacted.

caw

waylander · Jan 30, 2018

Guess that if he had been a 32 y.o. assistant DA from Alabama there would have been no trouble at all

Bren McDonnall · Jan 30, 2018

waylander said:
Guess that if he had been a 32 y.o. assistant DA from Alabama there would have been no trouble at all

Srsly? Politics?

In 1963, it would virtually be guaranteed that the guy would be jailed. The girl might end up in juvie, depending on her parents. That's just for the sex. Certain areas in the south and southwest where the age of consent laws were different would, of course, be a different matter, although many of those jurisdictions were more harsh on extramarital affairs.
Public nudity is a trickier issue, as different jurisdictions handled it differently. The parents of a girl caught going at it on a beach would be having a visit from child welfare, and the state going through their business with the proverbial fine toothed comb. The girl, if her parents were "normal" per the era, would be in six worlds of hurt, and might find herself visiting relatives in the country for an extended stay. (grandparents were a go-to for strict lockdowns)

Twick · Feb 1, 2018

I'm pretty sure a lot of pressure could be applied from both families to hush things up. Think how many drunk driving accidents were hushed up, how many actual cases of molestation, in those days. Depending on how well-connected the couple were, and how small the community was, I could see them walking away without charges.

laws about indecent exposure/public lewdness/age of consent in the 1960s

flowerburgers

New Fish; Learning About Thick Skin

cornflake

practical experience, FTW

flowerburgers

New Fish; Learning About Thick Skin

Lakey

professional dilettante

flowerburgers

New Fish; Learning About Thick Skin

Siri Kirpal

Swan in Process

blacbird

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

Bren McDonnall

Twick