Print this Article Email this Article ShareThisBy Mary Ann Bragg
mbragg@[EMAIL PROTECTED]
13, 2008
PROVINCETOWN - It's a slow week in the northern territory of the Cape Cod
National Seashore when a man with a yellow towel fla****ng passers-by is
the
sole complaint about public *** acts.
In the past decade, the number of complaints about explicit, open public
***
in the Provincetown and Truro ****tions of the national park has more than
tripled, Seashore acting chief ranger Craig Thatcher said. The activity
ranges from fla****ng to masturbation to men's outdoor orgies, he said.
NORTHERN EXPOSURE
Disorderly conduct citations for public *** acts in the northern district
of
the Cape Cod National Seashore (Provincetown and Truro):
This summer, federal authorities are introducing a new tactic to
discourage
debauchery in the dunes: pairing up with local officials and business
leaders to try to persuade culprits to behave better through public
education.
"It's a growing issue, both from the number of complaints and the number
of
areas doing this activity," Seashore superintendent George Price said. "We
certainly wanted to start a conversation with the people in Provincetown
to
see how we can tackle this together."
Leap in citations
The Seashore's 44,000 acres are divided into two districts, with the
northern sector covering parts of Provincetown and Truro, including about
20
miles of coastline.
Public ***ual activity is illegal in the Seashore under federal and state
law, Thatcher said. He said in incidents of public *** rangers usually
enforce a federal misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct, which
prohibits
obscene acts. The misdemeanor charge can result in a $150 citation, with a
$25 court fee, for an outdoor violation. An indoor violation, as in a
bathhouse, requires a court appearance before a federal magistrate.
Last year, Seashore rangers issued 132 citations for public *** acts,
compared with about 70 annually from 2003 to 2006, and about 40 citations
annually in prior years, Thatcher said. The Seashore does not specifically
track and categorize complaints about public *** acts, he said.
There has been no increased law enforcement that could explain the soaring
number of citations issued, Thatcher said. The Seashore will employ four
permanent rangers and nine seasonal rangers this summer, he said.
An example of the complaints was a call re****ting Wednesday that a 65- to
70-year-old man was fla****ng people at Herring Cove Beach, according to
Seashore records.
In a Sept. 19, 2007, letter, a New Jersey family walking with children in
the dunes encountered "several couples and then a large group of men
having
group *** in the ****, including oral and anal *** right out in the open."
In an August 2007 letter, a whale-watch boat captain leaving Provincetown
Harbor with passengers re****ted seeing 20 to 30 **** men "playing around"
near Wood End Lighthouse.
Other complaints describe Seashore visitors encountering public *** acts
at
Head of the Meadow Beach in North Truro and near a Seashore building off
North Pamet Road in Truro.
Request for discretion
The Seashore does not release the names of the people making complaints,
to
protect their privacy, Thatcher said.
Provincetown has a relatively large gay resident population and is a
popular
destination for gay tourists.
"It's not acceptable, decent, moral behavior," said Province-
town Police Chief Jeff Jaran, whose department assists Seashore rangers.
"There is a time to be discreet, and there are places to go and do those
types of things."
Jaran said he sup****ts a combination of "zero-tolerance" law enforcement
and
public education.
Last week, Seashore officials discussed the illegal activity with local
officials and representatives of the town's two business groups, the
Provincetown Chamber of Commerce and the Provincetown Business Guild. To
build on that meeting, Price is drafting a statement to address the issue
that all the attendees will sign and distribute to business owners,
tourists, newspapers and others, Price and business guild spokesman Don
Knuuttila said.
"I think it's really about developing a collaborative relation****p where
we
can help each other," Knuuttila said. "It's about a unified front."
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