An 'exhibitionist' who golfed nude on beach, court told

[FrancoisParis_ 100]

A man who often practiced his golf swing in the nude on a New Brunswick beach is an "exhibitionist" who was always "parading" around, said one of several witnesses at the public nudity trial.


Marc Langlais, a 57-year-old naturist from Rimouski, Que., is charged with 10 counts of public nudity and breach of probation after frequenting a Cap-Pelé beach in the summer of 2006. Sometimes he was completely nude while other times, as photos shown in court demonstrated, he wore only a tiny piece of cloth covering part of his genitals.
Under the law, a person is considered "nude" not only when completely naked, but also if clad in a way that offends against public decency or order.


In court this week in Shediac, Langlais's lawyer, Martin Aubin, argued that in today's society, a naked or semi-naked man hitting golf balls on a beach does not offend public order.
Langlais's skimpy apparel wasn't anything more than what would be seen in a Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition or late-night television, Aubin said.
Crown attorney Gabriel Bourgeois argued the difference is people have a choice whether they will open those magazines or watch those television shows.
He pointed out that the beach is used by families and a local day care. As the law on public nudity requires, people were indeed bothered by Langlais's nudity, Bourgeois said.
[B]Mother upset that young girls saw nude man[/B]

A mother of two young girls told the court on Thursday that her daughters, ages six and two, shouldn't have had to see Langlais naked while they were on holiday at the beach.
Another witness for the Crown, Noella Gagnon, testified on Wednesday that Langlais, a retired gym teacher, was constantly "parading" around the beach.


"He's an exhibitionist," Gagnon testified. "He wanders up and down the beach. Up and down. He mingles in the crowd."
The evidence presented by the Crown showed that, despite being asked by several beachgoers to put on more clothing or leave the beach, Langlais often set up a tiny enclosure on a sandbar and then set out on walks and golfing excursions.


Langlais keeps a summer home in the area and at the time of the incidents was already on probation for public nudity at the same beach.
Most of the Crown's witnesses testified it wasn't the nudity that bothered them but that Langlais seemed to be flaunting his nakedness and disturbing the rest of the beachgoers.


Langlais will have a chance to defend himself in court next week.



[url]http://www.cbc.ca/canada/new-brunswick/story/2007/10/05/nb-nude-beach.html[/url]