Nude gardener's harassment conviction voided by court
Associated Press
Published Aug 9, 2002 NUDE10
PITTSBURGH -- Chalk up another victory for the naked gardener.
The Pennsylvania Superior Court has overturned the harassment conviction of Charlie Stitzer, who has a habit of tending his backyard garden in the nude.
Stitzer, 64, of Pleasant Gap, was convicted in December 2000 of indecent exposure after a neighbor, Pam Watkins, complained that she and her 15-year-old daughter had seen Stitzer gardening in nothing but shoes and a wristwatch. Stitzer was sentenced to two years probation.
The Superior Court threw out that conviction in March, saying Stitzer's backyard was private and that the neighbors were too far away - 65 yards - to have seen anything offensive.
The separate harassment charge stems from three letters Stitzer wrote to Watkins. The Superior Court, in its ruling Monday, said Stitzer used the letters ``to establish a dialogue with his longtime neighbor in an attempt to mediate their ongoing conflict. ... He used these letters as a forum to make peace.''
Stitzer said he first started gardening in the nude to persuade Watkins to dim the outdoor floodlights that shone toward his property, a few miles northeast of State College, Pa.
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The practice of putting women on pedestals began to die out when it was discovered that they could give orders better from there.~ Betty Grable
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