The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office yesterday dismissed a complaint against an elderly man for allegedly masturbating in a movie theater, after an investigation showed the theater was too dark to be able to clearly see what other patrons might be doing.
“Even if the accused had exposed himself, he was not doing so to be seen by other people,” the office said.
Charges of masturbating and indecent exposure in public had been filed against the 71-year-old man, surnamed Lee (李), after an incident last month at a Banciao District (板橋) movie theater.
The case was brought by a teacher in her 30s, who told police that she saw the man fondling his crotch and exposing his genitals.
She told police that when she realized what the man was doing, she stood up and screamed at him.
According to her complaint, Lee then tried to leave the theater, but the woman ran over, grabbed him and called police on her cellphone.
Lee said it had all been a misunderstanding and that he had not been masturbating, but just scratching his private parts because of a skin condition that makes them itchy.
The prosecutors’ office said that an investigation found the theater lighting was dark and all the seats were divided by arm rests, so it would be very difficult to see from a distance if the accused had exposed his genitals and was masturbating or scratching his private parts unless someone was making direct and careful observation.
Since Lee tried to leave the theater after the woman screamed, it was clear that he had no intention of indecently exposing himself to be seen by other patrons.
The investigation also found that there were only six customers in the theater at the time of the incident and Lee was sitting in the seat that had been assigned to him when he bought his ticket, so he was not trying to sit near the woman.
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