THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 12, 1995 TAG: 9505120458
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SUFFOLK LENGTH: Short : 38 lines
Robert V. Gallup, a nudist who has repeatedly challenged the city's anti-nudity ordinance, has again been arrested for indecent exposure.
Gallup, a 42-year-old Virginia Beach firefighter who lives in the 2400 block of Freeman Mill Road, was charged Wednesday evening with the misdemeanor offense. Police obtained a warrant after a citizen complained that Gallup was nude in public on April 29.
Since 1988, Gallup has been charged with indecent exposure five times, according to police records. No convictions resulted in jail, and most of the cases were dismissed for lack of evidence.
Once, however, Gallup - a member of the clothing-optional White Tail Park in Southampton County - was convicted and received a suspended 12-month jail sentence, said Claude Scialdone, the Virginia Beach attorney who represented him.
Gallup has claimed he should be allowed to mow his grass or wash his car without clothing at his home in an isolated area near Whaleyville.
Judge G. Blair Harry dismissed a 1990 charge, ruling that Gallup could expose his private parts in the private part of his yard - but not in his front yard, where he could be seen by passers-by. But no one was able to prove Gallup was nude when visible from the road.
Since then, the city has revised its ordinance prohibiting public nudity, to clarify what indecent exposure is.
If convicted, Gallup faces up to $2,500 in fines, 12 months in jail or both.
KEYWORDS: INDECENT EXPOSURE NUDITY ARREST by CNB