Four official complaints have been made at UB regarding public lewdness or having exposed genitals in public since 2021, according to UPD Deputy Chief Joshua Sticht.
These incidents were reported in parking lots, Lockwood Library, Alumni Arena and the Student Union. Sticht told The Spectrum that while the university has only received four official complaints, the numbers “do not reflect the amount of times UPD has checked on couples being intimate in parked cars.”
The consequences that follow from each UPD encounter are different, according to Sticht.
He said that if the individual is not a current student, UPD will often arrest and ban the person from the university. If the individual is a current student, UPD may still arrest or refer the person to conduct.
In the cases where police catch couples in parking lots, Sticht said UPD “checks the welfare of the parties involved to ensure that everyone involved is consenting and not intoxicated to the point where consent is not possible.”
“Our response is guided by whether or not the act is criminal,” Sticht said.
Those who partake in public sexual activities could be found guilty of a class A or B misdemeanor in New York State.
Under state penal laws, an individual must be over 19 with the intention of being observed by someone under 16 years of age to be charged with public lewdness in the first degree, a class A misdemeanor.
To be charged with a class B misdemeanor, the individual would have to intentionally expose intimate parts, with the intent to be observed, and doing so while trespassing.
Perpetrators of offenses such as exposure of a person and offensive exhibition can receive infractions or violations.
A list of offenses against public sensibilities can be found here.
Kiana Hodge is a news editor and can be reached at kiana.hodge@ubspectrum.com
