The defendant having indecently exposed himself in Paddington Churchyard to a 12 year old girl was charged with committing a public nuisance.
Held: Only one person had seen him. The charge could not be sustained unless there had been at least two people present, of whatever sex. Lord Denman CJ said: ‘The general rule is that a nuisance must be public; that is, to the injury or offence of several. There is no precedent of such an indictment as the present and we are not inclined to make one.’
Judges:
Lord Denman CJ
Citations:
(1847) 3 Cox CC 376
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Applied – Rex v Webb 1848
(Exchequer Chamber) The defendant was accused of having exposed himself to a barmaid in the bar of a public house when there was no one else in sight. The charge was for outraging public decency contrary to common law. She ran off and informed her . .
Cited – Rose vDirector of Public Prosecutions Admn 16-Mar-2006
The defendant appealed his conviction for outraging public decency by behaving in an indecent manner contrary to common law. He had been in the foyer of a bank at night with a girl who performed oral sex. The action could have been seen, but was . .
Cited – Hamilton, Regina v CACD 16-Aug-2007
The defendant appealed his conviction for outraging public decency. He had surreptitously filmed up the skirts of women in a supermarket. The offence was only discovered after the films were found on a search of his home for other material. The . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Crime
Updated: 24 October 2022; Ref: scu.241290