Is it legal in SC to sunbathe nude in your backyard? What state law says

Let’s say you’ve just installed a swimming pool in your backyard and want to christen it with a little skinny dipping.

Or tan lines are just not attractive and you want to lie in the sun naked.

Are you breaking South Carolina law?

Not specifically but maybe.

There’s no law in South Carolina against nudity but there is an indecent exposure law, which says, “It is unlawful for a person to wilfully, maliciously, and indecently expose his person in a public place, on property of others, or to the view of any person on a street or highway.”

Columbia defense attorney James R. Snell Jr. considers the law “very serious.”

“Not only does the law provide up to three years imprisonment, even for a first offense; laws also subject anyone charged with lifetime sex offender status. This means having to publicly register forever,” he said.

The Jeffcoat firm says on its website that some people commit indecent exposure without even knowing it, while other behaviors may seem more obvious.

Most commonly this action is brought if someone is found urinating in public, streaking, flashing or even having sex in a car.

“Most people are surprised to learn that they can go to jail for indecent exposure instead of walking away with a ticket or infraction, especially in minor cases like public urination,” the Jeffcoat firm said.

The change is a misdemeanor, Jeffcoat said.

Greenville County has an ordinance that says anyone intentionally being nude in public or in an area readily visible to the public is guilty of indecent exposure.

Those offenses are far from trying to get a simple tan, but it does depend on who’s looking. Just how observant is your neighbor? And how far do they — and law enforcement — want to take it?

Snell said a defense he’s used before in indecent exposure cases is looking at the motivations of the accuser. Were they biased or have a reason to exaggerate what they thought they saw?

Intent is also a factor. Did you intend to be lascivious or vulgar? Or just minding your own business in the comfort of your own home?

In the end, the solution may well be a privacy fence or hedge or visit a nudist resort. South Carolina has at least two — Cedar Creek in Leesville and Carolina Foothills in Chesnee.