Vancouver naked biking case comes to a close
Posted by Jonathan Maus (Publisher/Editor) on June 29th, 2010 at 5:18 pm
(Photos © J. Maus)
According to The Columbian newspaper, Matthew Vilhauer’s naked biking case has finally come to a close. Vilhauer was arrested for indecent exposure after biking naked during a Pedalpalooza ride in Vancouver in June 2009. Last month, a deadlocked jury left the case unresolved.
before he was arrested.
Today, instead of extending the saga into another trial, Vilhauer agreed to plea to a lesser infraction in order to end the case. He pled guilty to agreed to accept a citation for not wearing a helmet, an infraction that carries a $50 fine. It’s interesting to note that Vilhauer was actually wearing a helmet, but apparently in the legal system, this type of plea deal is common.
Here’s more from The Columbian:
“Court-appointed defense attorney Luka Vitasovic said Tuesday that Vilhauer has accepted the city’s offer of a civil infraction.
While a helmet and shoes were the few things Vilhauer did have on, Vitasovic said it’s common practice to let someone take a lesser offense even if it doesn’t square with the facts.
“There isn’t really a ticket that covers what he was doing,” Vitasovic said. And the infraction of cycling without a helmet was one of the cheapest infractions Vitasovic could find.
Vitasovic said Vilhauer knew he’d have a decent shot at being acquitted if the city took the case to trial again, but was ready to end the case and move on.”
Read the full story at Columbian.com.
NOTE: Thanks for sharing and reading our comments. To ensure this is a welcoming and productive space, all comments are manually approved by staff. BikePortland is an inclusive company with no tolerance for meanness, discrimination or harassment. Comments with expressions of racism, sexism, homophobia, or xenophobia will be deleted and authors will be banned.