Ark. Code Ann. » Title 5 Chapter 14
Arkansas Code Annotated

Ark. Code Ann. § 5-14-111 (2026)

Public sexual indecency

✓ current as of May 2026
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  1. A person commits public sexual indecency if he or she engages in any of the following acts in a public place or public view:
    1. An act of sexual intercourse;
    2. An act of deviate sexual activity; or
    3. An act of sexual contact.
  2. Public sexual indecency is a Class A misdemeanor.

History. Acts 1975, No. 280, § 1811; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-1811.

Research References

ALR.

What constitutes “public place” within meaning of state statute or local ordinance prohibiting indecency or commission of sexual act in public place. 95 A.L.R.5th 229.

U. Ark. Little Rock L.J.

Arkansas Law Survey, Jeffrey, Nelson, Nunnally and Robertson, Constitutional Law, 7 U. Ark. Little Rock L.J. 179.

Case Notes

Burden of Proof.

Appellant's sexual assault conviction under § 5-14-127(a)(3) was affirmed where his argument that he reasonably believed that the victim was older than 16 was an affirmative defense under § 5-14-102(d)(1) and thus, the trial court properly concluded that he, rather than the State, bore the burden of proof under § 5-1-111(d)(1). Wright v. State, 98 Ark. App. 271, 254 S.W.3d 755 (2007).

Construction With Other Law.

Sentencing court had authority to order the registration of a defendant as a sexual offender because the defendant's crime of public sexual indecency was classified as a sexual offense, under this section, and because § 12-12-903(12)(B)(ii) did not restrict the sentencing court's authority to order registration for a person's conviction as a sex offender for a sexual offense neither enumerated in § 12-12-903(12)(A)(i) nor included under the provisions of § 12-12-903(12)(B)(ii). Fountain v. State, 103 Ark. App. 15, 285 S.W.3d 706 (2008).

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 5 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 2002–2026 · leading case: Jegley v. Picado, 80 S.W.3d 332 (Ark. 2002).
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Jegley v. Picado, 80 S.W.3d 332 (Ark. 2002). · cites it 12× “I further agree that enforcement of the act against one group of citizens violates the equal protection clause of the Arkansas Constitution (Article 2, section 3) and that the State has no valid reason for doing so.”
State v. Ashley, 66 S.W.3d 563 (Ark. 2002). · cites it 6× “Here, the State questions the trial court’s application of Ark. Code Ann. § 5-14-111 (b) (Repl. 1997) to the facts at hand and not its interpretation, so the appeal must be dismissed.”
Fountain v. State, 285 S.W.3d 706 (Ark. Ct. App. 2008). · cites it 2× “Section 12-12-905(a)(l) clearly states that our sex-offender registration requirements apply to persons “adjudicated guilty on or after August 1, 1997, of a sex offense,” and, although not included among the sexual offenses enumerated in section (12)(A)(i), the crime of public…”
Sweeny v. Pine Bluff Arkansas, City of (E.D. Ark. 2024). · cites it 2× “Ark. Code Ann. § 5-14-111 (a)(3) (prohibiting sexual contact in 4 a public place); Fountain v.”
State of Arkansas v. Valencia Coleman, 2026 Ark. App. 137 (Ark. Ct. App. 2026). “not file: (1) A new uniform petition to seal one of the following criminal offenses until after a period of five (5) years has elapsed since the completion of the person’s sentence for the conviction: (A) Negligent homicide, § 5-10-105, if it was a Class A misdemeanor; (B)…”
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