This seems so wrong!
A Utah woman faces criminal charges and could be registered as a sex offender after her stepchildren saw her topless.
Tilli Buchanan (above) appeared in court on Tuesday hoping to overturn charges of lewdness she faces for an incident she claims was an attempt to teach her three stepkids about women’s inequality.
The incident took place two years ago when the now-27-year-old and her husband were installing drywall in their garage in Salt Lake City. Tilli alleged they decided to go inside, get out of their sweaty work clothes, and take a shower.
When they removed their shirts, however, her stepchildren — a then-nine-year-old boy, 10-year-old girl, and 13-year-old old boy — came downstairs and grew embarrassed. Tilli claimed she told them not to be uncomfortable because there was no difference between her or their father being shirtless.
Related: Danielle Fishel Gets Candid About Severe ‘Mom Guilt’
Unfortunately, the children’s biological mother didn’t feel the same way about Tilli’s feminist take on her shirtlessness. The children’s mother reportedly contacted the police, telling them she was “alarmed” by the story, leading to Tilli being slapped with three counts of lewdness involving a child. Her husband, unsurprisingly, was not charged.
According to reports, Tilli was charged in February after West Valley City prosecutors learned about the incident during a Division of Child and Family Services investigation into the children over a separate incident unrelated to her — and they claim the incident wasn’t as innocent as the stepmom made it out to be. Per court docs, the prosecutors claim she was “under the influence of alcohol” at the time and took her top off after her husband took his shirt off, saying she would only put it back on if he showed her his genitals.
Speaking to the Salt Lake Tribune back in September, Tilli said she didn’t even give the incident a second thought until she was charged, admitting:
“I was devastated. Because the moment I took to teach the kids, it was kind of smashed. Like you can’t teach kids this. In fact, you’re going to be charged for even bringing this up.”
She continued:
“This isn’t a sexual thing. I should be able to wear exactly what my husband wears. You shouldn’t be embarrassed about this.”
And she refuses to be.
During Tuesday’s hearing, Tilli, her attorney, and an attorney with the ACLU of Utah argued the state’s lewdness statute is unconstitutional because it discriminates against women. Her attorney Randy Richards said:
“Because Tilli Buchanan is a woman — and only because she is a woman — the state now seeks to condemn her as a child sex offender for engaging in the exact same non-sexual conduct as her lawfully faultless husband… Tilli Buchanan is being singled out for prosecution solely on the basis of sex.”
Tilli drove this sentiment home after Tuesday’s hearing, telling the AP:
“It was in the privacy of my own home. My husband was right next to me in the same exact manner that I was, and he’s not being prosecuted.”
Prosecutors, on the other hand, argued that it’s socially accepted in the US for nudity to include a woman’s breasts.
A judge will rule on the case in the coming months. If convicted, Tilli could face jail time, fines, and could be required to register as a sex offender for ten years!
This all sounds a bit ridiculous to us. What do U think??
[Image via FOX13]
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