Maybe Naked Coffee Guy should move to Oregon

If Eric Williamson is (rightfully) pissed enough at being treated as a criminal and a pervert simply for being naked in his own kitchen at 5:30 AM, then he ought to consider the Beaver State as a new place of residence. After all, Jimmy “Mack” McKenzie regularly parades around his lawn in his birthday suit, smack-dab in plain view of any and all adults and children who pass by – and, according to Oregon public nudity law, there is absolutely nothing that’s reprehensible about it.

"He's standing out there in the summer, the spring, the rain, in the heat," said Susan. "It doesn't matter."

KATU News tried to talk to McKenzie, but he declined. However, we only had to wait outside his home for about 10 minutes to see the so-called 'Naked Neighbor' come out in his red and revealing briefs.

Neighbors say that's how it starts. He struts out in his underwear and then pulls them off. One of his favorite times to go 'full Monty' is in the afternoon, they say, just in time for the Rainier school bus.

[…]

The Columbia County Sheriff's Department has received complaints about McKenzie, but they say what he is doing is not illegal.

According to the law, McKenzie can walk all the way down his driveway to his mailbox, stark naked if he likes, and it doesn't matter who sees him.

However, if McKenzie does something a little different than just walking, he could get in trouble.

"If he's walking around trying to arouse himself or others, then that's a crime," said Lt. Jerry Simmons with the Columbia County Sheriff's Department.

Oregon's law on public nudity is clear - it is not public indecency unless the person engages in sexual intercourse publicly or attempts arousing sexual desire with their self or another person.

How’s this for a perfect example to illustrate how tolerance and rules dictating what you can and cannot do change so drastically depending on where you are? In Virginia, Eric “Naked Coffee Guy” Williamson was briefly glimpsed by a passing woman and her child – who, considering they were cutting across his lawn, had no right even to be there in the first place – at the crack of dawn, when he was in his home, in his kitchen. Yet, here, a man is free to parade around and show his junk as he pleases, right by the streets, and no-one does anything about it.

Something is wrong with this picture.

But, if you thought that was creepy enough, it gets a whole lot more troubling when you take into account the fact that McKenzie is a convicted child molester:

KATU has obtained police and court records showing McKenzie was charged with public indecency three times between 1989 and 2004.

According to records at the state appeals court, he also admitted to molesting a toddler and while he was serving probation in 2005, McKenzie was arrested again, this time charged with 50 counts of Encouraging Child Sexual Abuse.

Deputies say they searched his home and found boxes and computer hard drives stuffed with child pornography. McKenzie is currently free on bail for the child porn charges. He goes to trial in late September, but that is little consolation to those who live near him.

"This guy was charged with kiddie porn and you're telling me he's not showing an interest in the children on the school bus? Where else are you going to get that big of an audience?" asked Susan.

Normally, I’d be the first to disagree with the hypersensitive “protect teh children!” attitude that runs rampant, but in this case, I find myself in agreement with Susan’s concerns. This isn’t just some harmless nude frolicking, which in itself, while unsavory and disturbing to some (or most), isn’t really any cause for alarm. This is a man who has been convicted, several times, or molesting children, possessing large amounts of child pornography on his computer, and being just a general creep. I have no idea what his goals are in walking around naked, but taking his history into consideration, I would bet very strongly that they are not benign. If he isn’t getting his rocks off by deliberately exposing himself to a school bus full of kids whenever he can, then I dunno what he’s doing.

(via The Agitator)
Technorati tags: Naked Coffee Guy · Jimmy McKenzie · indecent exposure · child molesters