THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, June 20, 1996 TAG: 9606200010
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: 55 lines
Suffolk Del. Robert Nelms had a lot to say after he was arrested last winter on a charge of indecent exposure in a Richmond park notorious for gay cruising.
He was a victim of police harassment, Nelms said.
The media had subjected him to a ``statewide lynching,'' he added.
``The worst convicted murderer has not received more attention than I have over this ridiculous situation,'' he fumed.
In court on Tuesday, Nelms had something else to say.
``Guilty.''
Closed mouthed for once, the three-term GOP delegate refused to comment on his conviction and $50 fine. His attorney said Nelms and his wife had concluded the plea was the best way to put the episode behind them.
It was also the best way to ensure that the undercover vice officer in plain clothes who arrested Nelms would never testify.
Nelms said the indecent-exposure charge resulted from his decision to answer the call of nature while walking near the river. Police have been mum, except to say that if Nelms had merely been urinating in public, that would have been the charge.
One ramification of the incident is likely to be an attempt during the 1997 General Assembly to clarify when state lawmakers may claim ``legislative immunity'' from arrest. Nelms argued that his detention by a police officer was illegal because the legislature was in session when it occurred.
That defense temporarily saved Nelms from conviction, until a grand jury indicted him.
A condition of Nelms' conviction is that he can no longer set foot in any Richmond park without being guilty of trespassing.
The voters of the 77th House District should decide whether Nelms has already trespassed too far on their sensibilities. by CNB