Sex sting draws complaints of targeting gays

5-26-2010 California:

Tensions are rising in Palm Springs following recent court allegations that police singled out gay men when enforcing the city's laws against indecent exposure and sex in public.

Those allegations, part of a motion filed May 4 in Riverside County Superior Court, stem from a summer 2009 Palm Springs police sting operation aimed at curbing public sex in the city's Warm Sands neighborhood.

All 24 men nabbed in the Warm Sands sting face misdemeanor indecent exposure charges that would require them to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives, according to the Riverside County District Attorney's office.

Roger Tansey, an Indio-based deputy public defender representing five of the accused, alleges Palm Springs police routinely target gay men when enforcing the laws against public sex acts and turn a blind eye to heterosexuals.

“Absolutely nobody has a right to have sex in public,” Tansey said. “But the declarations we have filed show ... only blocks away from Warm Sands, men and women — heterosexuals — are doing the same thing. They're given a free pass to play.”

The Palm Springs Police Department declined to comment on the sting or the allegations.

Tansey's motion also alleges Palm Springs police and DA officials met prior to the Warm Sands sting and agreed in advance to charge all those arrested with indecent exposure requiring a lifetime sex offender registry.

DA spokesman Michael Jeandron disputed Tansey's claims.

“Each case is different” and considered on its own merits, Jeandron said.
“Our office does not charge someone based on their sexual orientation,” he added. “It's not a factor. It's not considered. We charge someone based on their criminal conduct.”

The DA plans to respond formally to Tansey's claims prior to a June 14 hearing before a Superior Court judge, he added.

Thomas Hughes, a San Diego-based criminal defense attorney who served nearly three years as deputy Riverside County District Attorney, called it “unusual” for his former colleagues to pursue a lifetime sex-offender registry, under California Penal Code section 314, for the Palm Springs sting. ..For the remiander of this article.. Marcel Honoré