Public Lewdness

A criminal offense, broader than indecent exposure, covering a lewd, indecent or sexual act performed in a public place or in view of another person who has not consented to witness it, encompassing conduct such as public masturbation or a sexual act between two or more people performed where others can see, in addition to the narrower act of merely exposing one's genitals that indecent exposure specifically targets. Many United States states codify the two as separate offenses, or as a single lewd conduct or public indecency statute covering both, with the applicable charge and its severity generally turning on factors including whether the offender's specific intent was to be observed and whether a minor was present or likely to observe the conduct. Distinguished from obscenity, which concerns the publication or distribution of sexually explicit material rather than an act performed in person, public lewdness is generally prosecuted as a misdemeanor absent an aggravating factor such as a prior conviction or the presence of a child.