It’s a classic case of ‘It isn’t what it looks like, ‘ according to the San Francisco Public Defender’s office. Anthony Richey, a homeless man accused of masturbating in public has been found not guilty – He was, they say, just trying to pee.
According a statement sent to media by the Public Defender’s office, on July 25th 2010, a passerby called 911 and reported that Richey was partially hidden in an alcove on the corner of Eddy and Franklin, playing with himself.
Richey was tried for indecent exposure and lewd conduct, misdemeanors that would have landed him six months in jail and a lifetime as a registered sex offender. In what may have been the most embarrassing two and half days of his life, the court examined Richey’s 10 year medical history of prostate and bladder problems.
Both a urologist and the medical director of Jail Health Services testified that he has a documented medical history of problems that make urination difficult. Richey was also on a medication with a primary side effect of increasing difficulty in urinating.
The 911 caller admitted on the witness stand that maybe Richey was just trying to pee. The urologist testified that it’s common for men suffering from his condition to push on their bladders or squeeze their genitals to try and increase the flow of urine. Well, there you go.
The police confirmed that Richey was huddled against a wall, not easily visible to passers by. They also testified that when they approached Richey, telling him “You can’t be doing that here”, Richey responded, “I have no place else to go. I’m homeless.”
Richey’s lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Ariana Downing, said “You can see how someone could observe Mr. Richey, homeless and huddled in an alcove, concentrating and unsuccessfully attempting to urinate, and jumpy to conclusions. However things aren’t always as they appear. In this case police mistook his intentions.”
Attempts made by the Appeal as well as other reporters to get the SF DA’s office’s side of things have not gotten a response at publication time.
