State v. Bagnes
2014 UT 4
| Utah | 2014Background
- Bagnes confronted two nine-year-old girls, exposed a diaper worn underneath his shorts, and indicated he wore it for incontinence.
- He dropped his shorts to reveal the diaper, which was small and partially exposed his pubic area but did not fully expose his buttocks.
- Bagnes distributed a flyer with images of diaper-clad children and adolescents, including URLs to adult-pornographic sites.
- The flyers were found by the girls’ mother, who reported the incident to police, leading to Bagnes’s arrest.
- He was charged with two counts of lewdness involving a child under 76-9-702.5 and one count of sexual exploitation of a minor under 76-5a-3(1).
- A jury convicted on all counts; the supreme court reversed the lewdness and sexual exploitation convictions, leading to all charges being effectively overturned on those grounds.
Issues
| Issue | Plaintiff's Argument | Defendant's Argument | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whether the evidence supports lewdness involving a child under 76-9-702.5(1). | State contends conduct fits 'any other act of lewdness' under the statute. | Bagnes argues there was no lascivious, virtual exposure or similar act as required. | Reversed for lack of sufficient evidence; no lascivious, virtual exposure shown. |
| Whether the evidence supports sexual exploitation of a minor under 76-5a-3(1). | State claims flyers depicted lascivious exhibition of pubic region. | Bagnes contends flyers did not exhibit the pubic region and thus fail the element. | Reversed for lack of exhibition; no child pornography proved. |
Key Cases Cited
- State v. Boyd, 25 P.3d 985 (Utah 2001) (sufficiency review and de novo element interpretation)
- Hi-Country Prop. Rights Grp. v. Emmer, 304 P.3d 851 (Utah 2013) (statutory interpretation; plain meaning vs. context)
- State ex rel. A.T. v., 84 P.3d 850 (Utah 2001) (ejusdem generis; scope of lewdness)
- State v. Piep, 84 P.3d 850 (Utah App. 2004) (application of Dost factors to lasciviousness)
- United States v. Knox, 32 F.3d 733 (3d Cir. 1994) (lascivious exhibition standard for child pornography)
- Dost, 636 F. Supp. 828 (S.D. Cal. 1986) (factors for lascivious exhibition)
- Morrison, 2001 UT 73 (Utah 2001) (Dost framework applied in Utah context)
- Jenkins v. Georgia, 418 U.S. 153 (U.S. 1974) (First Amendment considerations in exhibition contexts)