I actually have a good friend who is a research psychologist who specifically deals in sex crimes (and builds tools to do risk assessments for reoffense):
1) She is strongly against these kinds of laws
2) There are no researchers in the field who include these in their risk assessment.
Also these are largely a way to criminalize homelessness and people with mental health issues. Trust Fund Chad is never going on the sex offenders registry for public urination. Downs Syndrome Darrell on the other hand...
It just never made sense to me, like one day you're drunk off your ass and decide to take a piss behind a dumpster and someone reports it and suddenly you're a sex offender? It's a leap in logic. Other sex crimes have a malicious intent
In Canada a lot of this bullshit doesn't happen. For instance in Canada a person living in their car can't be arrested for a sex crime just because they were masturbating and people can see into a vehicle.
Again intent and victimhood matter to our justice system. Masturbating in the car you are living out of is rather victimless because there's no malicious intent. Buy and large people don't want to stigmatize being homeless here, it's a problem yes but for the homeless, everyone should have a home.
Intent is supposed to matter in public urination as well. For what it's worth I'm agreeing with you that it's crazy that people are being charged with sex crimes for things that are clearly not sex crimes.
But worse: if I pee behind a dumpster, the cop is going to tell me to move along. I might get charged with something but almost certainly not a sex crime. If it's a visibly unhoused person they are way more likely to be charged with a sex crime.
There generally DOES need to be intent to be seen.
If you masturbate in your house in front of your window you can be charged with a sex crime if they believe you were doing it to be seen. However, if you're in your own house and just didn't notice the window being open or something you shouldn't be charged.
Comments
1) She is strongly against these kinds of laws
2) There are no researchers in the field who include these in their risk assessment.
In the United States they can be charged.
Same with public urination.
There generally DOES need to be intent to be seen.
But again it's how poor you are...