Legal Commentary

More on the Sensuous Topless Sunbather

By Eugene Volokh

In August, I quoted this news.com.au story about an Italian incident:

A TOPLESS sunbather is being investigated by police after being accused of sensuously rubbing sun cream on herself on a public beach. Police were called to a beach at Anzio south of Rome by a furious mother who said the way the ?attractive? sunbather was rubbing lotion on her body had ?troubled her sons aged 14 and 12.? ...

?She is amazed that she is being condemned for simply sunbathing topless,? [the woman?s] lawyer Gianluca Arrighi said.

?Let?s be clear my client is tall, brunette and has an ample breast and is therefore going to naturally be sensuous when she applies cream to her chest....? ...

Now, reader Belkys Guerrero writes that ?the claimant mother has been condemned for ?calumnie? ... (a false accusation leading to the beginning of a criminal trial) and ordered to pay 25k to the young woman.? He points to an Italian video on the story, but since I can?t speak Italian I can?t understand it, except to note that the word for ?topless? in Italian is apparently ?topless.? I?d love to hear more details from any Italian-speaking readers.

UPDATE: Belkys Guerrero adds pointers to two written accounts, here, and here.

Full post as published by The Volokh Conspiracy on January 01, 2011 (boomark / email).