There is a lot to see in OKC, but several area children saw a lot more than they bargained for yesterday afternoon at the Myriad Botanical Gardens.
The Children's Garden at the Myriad Botanical Gardens is a popular play date destination in downtown Oklahoma City, and on hot summer days, Thunder Fountain just outside the garden gate is a good place to splash and cool off.
Unfortunately for the families playing there yesterday afternoon, one man thought it also seemed like a good place for a shower.
Police were called when an adult male stripped completely nude and began to bathe in Thunder Fountain. Because of the proximity to the Children's Garden, his antics were performed in the presence of toddlers and children aged 1 to 8.
Police arrived to find David Lee Berens, 31, who had been detained by several witnesses. Berens was arrested on complaints of indecent exposure and indecent exhibition and booked into the Oklahoma County Jail, where he is held on $4,000 bond.
Indecent exhibitions and indecent exposure are defined under the same statute in Section 1021 of the Oklahoma criminal code. According to this law, it is a felony to knowingly or intentionally expose ones body or private parts in a public place, in public view, or in any place where there are people present who will be annoyed or offended by the display.
Unlike "acts resulting in gross injury," which includes public indecency, indecent exposure is a felony sex crime. Because the nature and severity of the offense varies greatly, so do the penalties for conviction. Indecent exposure is punishable by 30 days in jail to 10 years in prison, and it levies fines ranging from $500 to $20,000. Indecent exposure to children is generally punished more severely than indecent exposure to other adults.
Under Oklahoma's offense-based sex offender risk level assessment, indecent exposure is a Level 1 sex crime. This means that anyone convicted must register as a sex offender annually for 15 years.
However, reports indicate that Berens is a registered sex offender in California--a claim this writer was unable to verify in searching that state's sex offender registry and the National Sex Offender Public Website.If Berens is, in fact, a convicted sex offender, an indecent exposure conviction would be a repeat sex crime. With two sex crime convictions, he would be considered a habitual offender, elevating him to the highest risk level. Level 3 sex offenders in Oklahoma must register for life.
