A 38-year-old man was arrested early Sunday morning after Charlotte County deputies say they found him naked and touching himself near Piper Road and Henry Street, in an incident he later told investigators he could not remember because he had blacked out on drugs. Matthew James Bean, of DeSoto County, now faces a felony charge tied to a prior conviction for the same kind of offense.
According to Gulf Coast News and Weather, deputies responded to the area at 6:02 a.m. Sunday after reports that Bean was naked and inappropriately touching himself. When they arrived, deputies said Bean was reportedly facing Piper Road while touching himself, and he was detained shortly after. He reportedly had an adult item wrapped around himself at the time he was taken into custody.
Two witnesses described separate moments from the encounter, per the same report: a deputy and a corrections corporal both said they saw Bean touching himself against a fence post bordering a cow pasture. A deputy also reported seeing him dancing naked near a light pole nearby.
Bean Says He Blacked Out After Using Multiple Drugs
Bean told deputies he did not remember touching himself in public because he had blacked out from drug use, the outlet reported. He said he had used methamphetamine, ketamine and Percocet the Saturday before the incident.
Following his detainment, Bean was taken to Advent Health, where medical staff cleared him before he was transported to the Charlotte County Jail, the report states.
Second Offense Carries Felony Weight
The Charlotte County Sheriff's Office said Bean was previously arrested and convicted for a similar exposure offense on March 19, 2022, according to the outlet's report. That history is significant because Bean is now facing a charge of exposure of sexual organs as a second or subsequent offense.
Under Florida law, exposing or exhibiting sexual organs in public in a vulgar or indecent manner — or simply being naked in public in a vulgar or indecent manner — falls under the state's exposure statute, according to Florida Statutes § 800.03. That same statute classifies a second or subsequent violation as a third-degree felony, a notably steeper consequence than a first offense.
