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Third-Time Indecent Exposure (PC 314), Long Beach, Probation
The is little doubt that a person arrested for indecent exposure is regarded as odd and perhaps mentally ill. When the person is over age 60 and has been convicted of indecent exposure twice before, the word “sad” is often used.
When our client came to us and reported being arrested for a third indecent exposure case, Greg Hill asked him what led to the arrest.
The answer was methamphetamine use. He explained that after using meth, he would feel a powerful high and the aphrodisiac effects of methamphetamine made his want sex with anyone who was attractive, even if that was a stranger.
Our client did not fit the normal profile of a methamphetamine user. He was clean-cut, in shape, articulate and had been employed continuously since the age of 18. He was not homeless and slovenly.
Prior to being arrested for the pending charges, our client, now age 62, had lived a relatively stable life until about 2010, when at age 48, his long-time partner decided to end their relationship and move back to Montana.
He then moved to Long Beach and began making new friends. These friends were not beneficial, as they introduced him to intravenous use of methamphetamine.
In 2011, he was then arrested for indecent exposure. At the time, he was high on methamphetamine. The case was resolved for a misdemeanor in Long Beach Superior Court.
Our client was thankful that throughout this case, he kept his job with Los Angeles County.
On Thanksgiving Day in 2015, however, our client’s father passed away, leaving our client distraught. At first, he did the “macho thing” as is celebrated in Hispanic culture and toughed it out. He believed he could handle it all, which meant becoming the major support system (with help from his two sisters) for his now grieving mom, then age 72.
However, the stress built up and quickly overwhelmed his life. As a catastrophic reaction, he made the mistake of turning to methamphetamine to numb the pain. He had not used drugs or alcohol in many, many years. His loss was so great that he succumbed back to his reckless behavior in a moment of weakness.
He used methamphetamine again and, again, was arrested for indecent exposure. This time, however, it was a felony and he was sentenced to sixteen months in state prison. He served a full eight months before being released. When he was released, he had lost his career with Los Angeles County and had to find new work through a temporary work agency.
In March of 2022, however, he ran into old friends who he had not seen in years and agreed to meet for dinner. The meeting took a turn for the worse and our client regrettably used methamphetamine yet again. The result was catastrophic, leading to the case at issue, where he was arrested committing indecent exposure in downtown Long Beach. He was standing outside an apartment looking into it at two people inside.
At this point, it would be reasonable to conclude that our client simply needed more prison and more punishment.
However, Greg understood that the criminal conduct at issue was inextricably rooted to his Major Depression Disorder and “catalyzed” by his Amphetamine Use Disorder. The solution, Greg argued, was more focused treatment of this rather than serving time in state prison again.
The client agreed with this and after his March 2022 arrest, approached his mental condition with a triage mentality, with a sense of urgency. He attended over 150 Narcotics Anonymous (NA) meeting in the following year while the case slowly worked its way through the Long Beach courthouse. He also sought out and attended counseling for sexual compulsiveness and his depression from two different doctors.
Greg then presented a Defense Position Letter to the prosecutor, explaining our client’s personal history and unfortunate path to mental illness and methamphetamine use. Greg argued that more prison would not stop the client from committing the crime again, as it was inextricably tied to his mental condition. Our client understood quite well that indecent exposure was a crime.
Therefore, Greg proposed a resolution wherein our client would be sentenced to two years in state prison, suspended, and then placed on two years of formal probation on the following conditions: that he continue attending two Narcotics Anonymous meetings every week, that he perform 240 hours (24 days) of Cal-Trans labor, that he attend and complete a further year of sexual compulsiveness classes (our client had already done a full year after the arrest) and that he stay away from the location of the crime.
Surprisingly, the District Attorney’s office agreed. Our client almost cried, as he was so resigned to the expectation that state prison was the only punishment any prosecutor would consider.
When the judge took our client’s plea to be placed on formal probation, she lectured our client and sternly warned him that he would be remanded to state prison if he failed to finish any term of probation on time. Our client was very happy to remain out of prison to continue employment, continue caring for his widowed mom and continue counseling and NA meetings.
It was a rare case where a case was resolved with an individualized approach and compassion.
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