14 DAY TRIAL // It is apparently illegal to rub a pregnant woman's belly in the state of Pennsylvania, as one unlucky man has found out.
He has been charged when a woman filed a complaint against him for touching her stomach without her consent.
The unsolicited act falls under the harassment crime category. 57-year-old Richard J. Beishline committed the crime at about 5 p.m. on October 20.
According to Trooper Robert Hicks, public information officer for the Pennsylvania State Police, the Cumberland County man went to his neighbor and rubbed her belly.
The “victim” knew the “suspect” very well. Both the plaintiff and the defendant live in a trailer park and they are neighbors, NBC News reports.
“Essentially, someone had touched a pregnant woman’s belly. That’s very common that pregnant women have to go through that,” attorney Phil DiLucente says.
Beishline hugged the woman and put his hands on her stomach, even though she did want him to, after which he was charged with harassment.
“The only problem is when you harass, annoy, alarm in the act of touching, then it’s a violation, a harassment charge. [...] Especially if they don’t know her or ask permission. It’s kind of invasive,” DiLucente notes.
WPXI informs that there has been confusion about the law, which is rarely, if ever applied.
“Simply stated, it’s always been the law. It always will be the law,” DiLucente explains, refuting claims that this is a new law.
“That’s taking it to the extreme. But if it really gets to you, she would probably be No. 1 voting for that,” DiLucente adds.
The charge counts as a summary offense in Pennsylvania, and it is punishable with a fine. If the defendant contests the fine, he will appear in Cumberland County court to dispute the incident.