How to Respond to Indecent Exposure

What should you do if you encounter someone in the act of indecent exposure?  This question came to the mind of Fredericksburg Patch editor Susan Larson, as as she reported on several recent incidents in her city. 

"For an investigator, one of the hardest challenges to overcome in crimes of this type is the natural aversion a victim has to looking at the suspect," Natatia Bledsoe, Fredericksburg Police Department spokesperson said.  "Because the gut-level reaction of the victim is to turn away from the offense, obtaining a reliable description of the suspect can be very difficult."


"If the circumstances are safe for the victim to do so, the most important thing a witness to a crime can do is pay attention to the details that may help identity the suspect," Bledsoe said.  For example:

• What is the perpetrator’s age? 
  
• Race or ethnicity?  
  
• Age? 
  
• Height?
• Build -- slim, medium, or heavy build?  
  
• What is the person wearing?
• Which way did the suspect go when they left the scene? 
• Did the suspect leave in a car?  Describe the car.
  

If the suspect says anything, take note of what the person's voice sounds like.  What specific words were spoken?  (The suspect may say the same thing to all their victims.)   

"I’m still waiting for the quick thinking witness who pulls out their cell phone and takes a picture of the offender's face in an indecent exposure case," Bledsoe said.  

Have someone ever illegally exposed themselves to you? What did you do?