Flashing in public a crime? Indecent exposure charge?

Flashing in public is a type of indecent exposure. As such, it’s a crime everywhere, not just in California, though the penalties will vary by state. (Each state puts out its own criminal or penal code.)

In California, the first time you flash someone in public, it’s a misdemeanor. A misdemeanor is a crime punishable by less than one year in prison—often, no prison time at all, but instead probation, a fine, a requirement for some form of counseling, community service, etc. However, if you are a serial flasher, the penalties escalate for the second and subsequent convictions. The California penal code states:

[Anyone who exposes] his person, or the private parts thereof, in any public place, or in any place where there are present other persons to be offended or annoyed thereby . . .is guilty of a misdemeanor.

Upon the second and each subsequent conviction under [the language quoted above] . . . every person so convicted is guilty of a felony, and is punishable by imprisonment in state prison.

Also, if you enter someone’s home to flash them (i.e. private, not public flashing, when it’s not in the privacy of your own home), you are much more likely to get jail time even for a first offense:

Every person who violates subdivision 1 of this section after having entered, without consent, an inhabited dwelling house, or trailer coach as defined in Section 635 of the Vehicle Code, or the inhabited portion of any other building, is punishable by imprisonment in the state prison, or in the county jail not exceeding one year.

So you’ve been dared to flash or think it would be fun, don’t. If you have a compulsion to do so, you’d be well-advised to seek counseling, to avoid potential serious consequences.