We live in a fast-paced world. For most of us, it can seem like there aren’t enough hours in a day. That’s why any personal time off is precious, especially for those raising a family. These few moments become a rare reprieve from the daily grind of work and offer a chance to bond with loved ones. That’s why it can suck real big when others aren’t considerate to this fact of life.
Men, women, children, and families of people young and old had their night out to a Florida restaurant ruined by a couple of jerks. Jeremie Calo, 32, and Tiffani Lynn Barganier allegedly had sex atop an outdoor table at Paddy
But it only gets worst from there. Not surprisingly, onlookers weren’t too happy with the display and complained to the restaurant’s management. A manager was dispatched to quell the deviant behavior; however, Calo and his gal would have none of it. When they were told to stop their lewd conduct and pay their bill, Calo crudely responded that Barganier couldn’t “get up at this time.” To make matters worse, he then allegedly refused to pay his tab and scuffled with restaurant staffers. Oh, and the couple was also apparently drunk as skunks.
Fortunately, police eventually arrived and arrested Calo for defrauding an innkeeper due to him allegedly not paying his bill. However, neither party has been charged with the more obvious crime of public lewdness and/or indecent exposure. Why? Because apparently no witnesses are willing to come forward against the couple. Mind you, this is a group that includes parents of children who saw first-hand the alleged sex act.
Every state in the country has laws prohibiting indecent public behavior. Many even classify it as a type of sex crime. Typically, convictions in these matters aren’t too difficult to secure as proving the offense under most state laws basically boils down to showing that the defendant was naked in public for their own arousal and that someone saw it. Not exactly a CSI episode.
However, one thing that people can overlook about the criminal justice process is that there needs to be evidence in order for a defendant to be successfully prosecuted. And witness reports often play a big part in securing a conviction.
Going back to CSI again, in the real world forensic evidence teams aren’t usually the deciding factor in most criminal cases. This is one of the rare instances in which Law & Order rings more true to real life. The vast majority of criminal prosecutions begin with a complaint supported by a witness statement(s), whether it’s from a cop or a member of the public. Without them, most criminal case wouldn’t get past the arrest phase.
And this is exactly what’s currently going on in Calo and Barganier’s case. Since no witnesses have agreed to come forward to verify the alleged public tryst, a charge for public lewdness not only wouldn’t be likely to stick, but it also wouldn’t have been reasonable for cops to levy either.
So far reports don’t indicate why a statement from the restaurant manager wouldn’t be enough to secure a charge for public indecency. It’s baffling for sure since it seems like he definitely saw the deed go down. Regardless, the more shocking aspect of this story is that no one else is willing to go on record at to the event. Again, there are parents in this witness pool. You’d think that in this age of overbearing mothers and fathers these people would be jumping at the chance to ensure Calo and Barganier get convicted for their alleged actions. Apparently, it turns out that most would rather let them walk than spare a few moments of free time.
Neither party has released a statement to the press as of yet. And that’s probably a good move as staying quiet is usually the best way to make an embarrassing news story like this one go away. This is especially true if everyone that can make a difference is doing the same thing. Hopefully though, someone will eventually come forward as a witness.