Las Vegas Criminal Defense Blog

A teacher at Las Vegas Academy has recently been arrested for alleged inappropriate behavior with a student. Reports are that the incident happened one time and on school property, but police are looking to see if there could have been other victims. Lieutenant John Bradshaw from Metro's Sexual Assault Detail gave the following advice to parents of students there: “[S]it down and speak with your children and see if they had Mr. Hoffman as a teacher, and be inquisitive about if anything happened inappropriate with them, and if they did, notify the sexual assault detail as soon as possible.

The teacher was charged with coercion and three counts of breaking Nevada open or gross lewdness law. A first offense for breaking Nevada open or gross lewdness law is a gross misdemeanor, carrying up to a year in jail and a $2,000 fine. Subsequent offenses for breaking Nevada open or gross lewdness law are category D felonies, carrying one to four years in jail and maybe a $5,000 fine.

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Today, forty-year-old James Clayton, a former North Las Vegas police officer, is expected to plead guilty in Clark County District Court to attempted misconduct and oppression under color of office. He was originally arrested back in December for felony misconduct, felony oppression under color of office, and misdemeanor indecent exposure for allegedly seeking dates and sexual favors from women drivers during traffic stops.

Clayton worked as a police officer in North Las Vegas from 2005 to early 2009, when he was fired after the arrest. He faces up to five years in jail total, the final sentence to be determined by the judge at Clark County District Court.

Las Vegas Metro has a Citizen Review Board, made up of twenty-five citizens, whose purpose is to receive and investigate complaints of police misconduct. All complaints must be in writing, signed, and submitted to 310 South Third Street, Suite 319, Las Vegas, Nevada, 89155.

On Thursday Las Vegas Nevada State Bank executive David Hiner was arrested for open and gross lewdness in Las Vegas for allegedly putting his hand down a man's pants after a July business meeting. The victim said he didn't report Hiner earlier because of embarrassment. He also said Hiner "flirted" with him in the months leading up to the touching, and that the bank refused to pay for the counseling he requested.

Hiner denied the charges and was placed on paid suspension. Hiner believes the victim fabricated the story to punish Hiner for not sending him any business.

Open and gross lewdness in Las Vegas, like domestic violence, is one of the more frequently falsely-accused offenses because police don't need physical proof to make an arrest, and people may play the victim card out of revenge. A first conviction is a gross misdemeanor, carrying a year in jail. A second conviction is a category D felony, carrying up to four years.

In 2006, Durand Berry was convicted for open and gross lewdness in Las Vegas after allegedly holding up a Cash Loans store and suggestively touching the cashier. In Berry v. State (125 Nev. Adv. Op. No. 26), he appealed to the Nevada Supreme Court on the grounds that NRS 201.210, open and gross lewdness in Nevada, was unconstitutionally vague because the words “gross” and “lewdness” aren’t defined in Nevada law. In rejecting his argument last month, the Court explained that those words have generally accepted meanings because “an average person of ordinary intelligence can determine what conduct is proscribed by the statute.”

Open and gross lewdness in Las Vegas encompasses such acts as engaging in sexual activity in public or exposing one’s private parts. A first offense is a gross misdemeanor carrying one year in jail, and a second offense is a category D felony, mandating up to 4 years in state prison.