It’s unheard of.
Bringing out your genitals to pee on someone else.
It’s perfectly natural to feel nature’s call, but it’s important to know that nobody will want another person’s pee on him or her, urine is a waste that should be disposed of properly.
Considering various circumstances that might lead to peeing on someone or another person peeing on you, have you ever wondered whether it is a crime or not?
Continue reading to find out.
Is it a Crime To Pee On Someone?
Yes. Peeing on someone is a criminal act and the defendant can be charged with assault. Also, the defendant may be charged with indecent exposure or sexual offense especially if a minor was present.
However, under some other circumstances, it may not be considered a crime. Situations like:
- While sleepwalking or drunk: a person is dull to senses and the capacity to think, thereby reducing the way the person responds or affecting the way they behave. Perhaps, you pee on someone while sleepwalking or drunk. You may not be guilty of the crime because it will be believed it was unintentional.
- If it is consensual or you pee on an adult: consensual means with permission, without coercion, allowed without objection or resisting. So if you pee on someone with permission from the person, it might not be considered a crime.
Although depending on the age grade of the people around, exposing sex organs to children might be considered a sex crime. So if it is unintentional and you pee on an adult, if the adult won’t take offense, talk it out and apologize to the person
Is it Illegal to Pee on Someone’s Property?
Yes it is. In some states, peeing on someone else’s property has legal consequences although the jail term might not be long, it depends on your jurisdiction.
Urinating outside your bathroom at all might result in you being charged for public nuisance or indecent exposure. Convictions for peeing in public may appear not serious, especially when one is fined, but it is a misjudgment as it will affect the offender for the rest of their life. It will also affect the offender’s employment chances and reflect on the criminal background.
These charges are in place to help property owners to secure their properties, but if there isn’t enough evidence to back up this claim, the person might get away with it.
You might install a camera at the place you notice people urinating a lot so that you can have evidence to present to the police.
Is Throwing Pee on Someone a Crime?
Bodily fluid assaults are crimes that involve coming in contact with, or exposure to, the body fluids. Throwing urine on someone is an example of bodily fluid assault.
All jurisdictions that have codified bodily fluid offenses need a guilty mind of specific intent (that is, one cannot cause another to be carelessly, accidentally, or negligently exposed to bodily fluids and be guilty of a crime). Some jurisdictions even cite mental illness on the part of the offender as an affirmative defense.
For bodily fluid assaults to be counted as crimes, conditions vary by jurisdiction. For example, in some jurisdictions, merely throwing the urine even without it having physical contact with the offending is considered a crime.
Physical contact is required in some jurisdictions, some jurisdictions count it as a crime only if it is ingested.
Is Urinating by the Side of the Road Indecent Exposure?
People often need to urinate during a long drive.
Avoid the risk of getting into trouble with the people or the authority. When nature calls, find the nearest public restroom and if it’s far away from you, you can beg the nearest house owners around to allow you to use their restroom; most likely they won’t say no, it’s nature’s call and it can happen to anyone.
The best thing to do is to find a gas station or rest stop where there are proper facilities one can use to relieve themselves.
Depending upon the circumstances, someone can end up arrested for indecent exposure when relieving oneself near the roadside.
It’s not the same as urinating against a building, in an alley, in a playground, or in your backyard.
Several states in the United States have statutes prohibiting indecent exposure. Exposure of genitals in public holds considerable consequences, depending on the age of the people implicated by such an exposure.
In the case of peeing in public, while in all sincerity, the offender has no intention to offend others, if the people who witness the act take offense, it becomes a criminal offense. Felony charges can be slapped on a person if a child was a victim of indecent exposure. A lesser charge of a misdemeanor may be used if the victims were adults.
Punishment for indecent exposure includes fines and jail time. In states like Georgia, Arizona, and California, an offender, if convicted, could end up registering as a sex offender if minors witnessed the indecent exposure.
Can You Be Charged With Public Urination?
Urinating in public may seem like a harmless and victimless offense. Drunk college students or homeless people may pee in public with no consequences, even if there are consequences, it doesn’t go beyond the disgrace of people seeing you act in public.
However, it’s a wrong notion, because the law takes an exception, one could face several charges for urinating in public if caught in the act.
Many state ordinances order harsh penalties for the act.
Peeing in public evokes charges that go beyond the act in itself. Also, prosecutors consider the harm done to public or private property and society.
Prosecutors may charge the offender with the following charges:
- Indecent Exposure: Most times, people caught urinating in public are charged with indecent exposure. Indecent exposure involves the exposure of the genitals when another person is present. Even though generally public urination does not involve the intent to cause sexual arousal, it’s still considered a type of sexual offense.
Some jurisdictions typically prosecute indecent exposure as is typically prosecuted as a misdemeanor. But, it can become a felony offense if the person who witnessed the public urination is a minor under the age of 15.
- Public nuisance: A person who is caught urinating in public may be charged with a public nuisance offense. A public nuisance is an act that is either illegal or not reasonable for the circumstances that endanger the safety or health of other people.
Public urination can be counted as an act that can compromise the health of other people. You may be charged with public nuisance even in situations where genitals are not exposed.
So, what do you do when caught peeing in public?
If you’re caught urinating in public, here are a few things you should do:
- Do not ignore or pay a citation fine immediately: A citation is a complaint about a crime, it will be to your detriment if you disregard the citation. Payment of a fine after the issue of citation is an admission of guilt to the offense and as you already know urinating in public will be added to your criminal record.
- Get in touch with your lawyers: Contact your lawyers immediately, and narrate details of what happened. It will assist your lawyer to gather the facts of the matter and determine the right tactics to mount your defense.
A good lawyer may be able to get a dismissal with a fine payment and a promise not to repeat the act. You must have a clean record.
Quick tip: Don’t urinate in public in the first place, if you can’t find a public restroom and you want to relieve yourself, you can politely ask any private property owner around to permit you to use their restroom and most likely they won’t say no.
How to Report Public Urination?
Public urination can be reported to the police according to the laws of your state. You must provide eyewitnesses or evidence to support your claim; if not, there won’t be enough evidence to convict the offender.
What to do if you need to hold your pee?
You may find yourself in unlikely circumstances, which may require you to hold your pee for a while. You can try some of these activities, as it has been proved to work:
- Do a task that will engage your brain actively, such as a game or crossword puzzle.
- Read a book.
- Scroll through social media on your phone.
- Listen to music.
- If you’re sitting, stay sitting.
- Keeping yourself warm, being cold gives the urge to urinate.
Conclusion
Although urinating in public seems like a harmless act, it is a crime that can lead to serious consequences. Most times, people caught urinating in public are charged with indecent exposure. Indecent exposure involves the exposure of the genitals when another person is close to or near you.
Even so, the penalties for public urination may appear trivial especially if a minor is not present.
Get this, having a clean criminal record is very important, especially for employment chances.