Concern over the behavior of an Ark City area man – who’s been seen taking walks in the nude in his neighborhood – has led to an effort to bolster the law against public nudity.
The same issue involving the same person has come up before in the IXL neighborhood south of Ark City where the walks have occurred. Warmer weather seems to be more suitable for the displays which neighbors don’t care for and have tried to get stopped.
Attempts have been made to speak with or otherwise confront the man, without success.
Now, Pam Crain, a local woman known for her abilities to rally support for various issues, is spearheading the push for a tougher law.
It’s not Crain’s neighborhood and she’s not had direct contact with the nude walker. She just happened to see a Facebook post about the issue that was occurring and decided something needed to be done.
She’s spoken with neighbors, contacted a Wichita TV station in hopes of attracting more attention to the issue and even went up to the man’s door. He didn’t answer.
“It’s disturbing that something like this can be happening in one of our neighborhoods, kids shouldn’t have to see that,” Crain said. “I won’t accept that there’s nothing that can be done about it.”
Law enforcement has been called in the past and have determined there’s no law being broken. To pursue a charge of lewd behavior, Sheriff David Falletti said, state statute requires it be clear the person is acting to arouse themselves or others.
“I can understand that they’re upset, I’d be upset, too,” Falletti said of residents in the neighborhood. “But our job is to enforce the law, and that means there has to be an applicable law for us to enforce.”
Cowley County attorney Larry Schwartz was also consulted on the matter last year. He wasn’t aware the activity had picked up again, and said that the next step would be to approach county administrator Lucas Goff, the county commission, or even state legislators about toughening the law.
Even then, he said, a county resolution might be subject to legal challenges. Any law would likely be a misdemeanor and punishable by a fine, not jail time, Schwartz added.
“Unfortunately, it’s something that if someone is intent on doing it,” he said. “They’re going to do it.”
Crain said she has contacted Goff and the push is on to seek action on a new law or regulation prohibiting public nudity. She’s researched and found some other places where such a public decency law exists.
Goff told Cowley Post Thursday morning that he planned to prepare a list of options to address the issue. He will then present those to the board of county commissioners for discussion and consideration.
