Wilful and Indecent Exposure

It is an offence under the Summary Offences Act 1988 – Section 5 to expose your genitals (referred to as ‘his or her person’) within view of a public place or school. This offence is called ‘Willful and Indecent Exposure’. The maximum penalty for this offence is 6 months imprisonment or a fine of up to $1100.

Exposing yourself indecently usually involves revealing your genitalia to one or more people with the apparent intent to shock them and to receive sexual gratification from doing so.

What is considered to be indecent exposure can vary within different cultures and communities. In some situations the exposing of bare breasts and/or buttocks can be determined to be indecent.

The two elements of the offence are ‘Willful’  meaning a deliberate act rather than accidental and ‘indecent’ meaning the exposure of a part of the body not normally exposed in public.

To be convicted of this offence the prosecution must be able to prove beyond reasonable doubt that you willfully obscenely or indecently exposed yourself in public.

If you have been charged with this offence it is important that you seek legal advice. It may be possible to defend a charge of willful and indecent exposure and with the right advice and professional legal representation you can achieve outcomes other than fines or imprisonment if convicted. An offence of this kind on a criminal record can have far reaching and lasting detrimental effects on your professional and personal life. It can affect potential employment opportunities and once on your criminal record it cannot become ‘spent’ or removed. It is therefore necessary to do all you can to avoid a conviction.

Good behaviour bond

A Good Behaviour Bond can be imposed by the court for this offence for a period of up to 5 years. There are usually conditions attached to Good Behaviour Bonds that must be satisfied. These conditions can include reporting to a police station periodically for the period of the Bond.

If you have been charged with this Willful and Obscene Exposure contact us to discuss your options. We have helped many clients to obtain Good Behaviour Bonds, or avoid a conviction all together. Contact William Vahl at North Shore Criminal Law on (02) 9955 2298 or 0400 44 64 24 (our 24 hour emergency service).