Florida neighborhood calls police on a 79-year-old for public indecency. Then he told the responding officer to ‘jump rope for me, baby doll’

A 79-year-old man in Hollywood, Florida, is facing legal trouble after a string of incidents involving public indecency at his own apartment complex. According to Local 10, the residents in the 2400 block of Van Buren Street contacted authorities to express they were “increasingly concerned and frustrated with his continued behavior.” Tyrone James Causey was then taken into custody on May 22.

Police had responded to a similar complaint about Causey just one day earlier. Investigators noted he was regularly seen in common areas making “lewd gestures.” One specific instance even involved him “thrusting his penis” directly at a woman’s doorbell camera. When Hollywood Police Department Officer Savannah Hutcheson arrived at the scene to investigate, she had her own encounter with him. 

She went to Causey’s door to speak with him, and he answered the door while wearing nothing but a “G-string thong.” As US Weekly noted, Causey attempted to justify his attire by claiming he had the “right to walk around naked under Florida Statute 800.001” as long as he was not located in a “park.” Hutcheson had to clarify that his interpretation was wrong and that it is, in fact, illegal “to walk around in public exposing himself.”

The interaction then took an even more inappropriate turn

Causey insisted that he was definitely “allowed to” walk around naked and that “he didn’t know he was being filmed.” Hutcheson wasn’t convinced. Hutcheson documented that Causey then began applying lipstick right in front of her. He “began touching his penis” and told her to “jump rope for me, baby doll.”

Authorities were able to identify at least five neighbors who provided statements about seeing Causey expose himself around the complex. This evidence led to his arrest on five separate counts of indecent exposure. 

According to Cornell Law College, the Indecent Exposure charge is levied when a person reveals their genitals in public, especially in a way that can offend others. It is considered indecent under the law when a reasonable person would or should know that they will be seen by others, and that their behavior can cause offense or alarm. 

Thus, not only does the person expose their genitals in public view, in an indecent manner, but it also needs to be willful, wrongful, and to “prejudice of good order and discipline.” These would be the elements of this charge. This charge was levied against a Georgia man who would answer the door for delivery drivers in the nude. Recently, a Secret Service agent also faced this charge after he stalked women and left them “in fear of our lives.”

In most states, Indecent Exposure is considered a misdemeanor. However, the charges against Causey were initially processed as felonies due to a previous arrest from 1987 and a citation issued following a police call on May 14. However, Local 10 reported that according to court documents, a Broward County judge only found probable cause for standard misdemeanor charges.

Beyond these recent indecent exposure charges, it seems that he was involved in a high-speed chase in the Florida Keys back in March. According to a Facebook post shared by the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, he allegedly sped a Toyota sedan through a construction zone. 

Causey reportedly reached speeds of over 100mph and drove extremely erratically, even tailgating other vehicles. He eventually pulled over and was arrested and charged with reckless driving and speeding. Following his arrest on May 22, Causey was booked into the Broward County jail. As of the afternoon of May 24, he was no longer listed in the jail records, meaning he has since been released.