# Mother Charged, May Have To Register As Sex Offender After Being Topless In Her Home



## Leeda.the.Paladin (Nov 20, 2019)

SALT LAKE CITY (KSL/CNN) - A Utah woman is facing charges after she says her stepchildren spotted her topless in her own home.

Tili Buchanan is charged with a misdemeanor that could force her to register as a sex offender.

Her lawyers were in court Tuesday, asking a judge to strike down the law banning women from being topless.

The incident happened more than a year ago in Salt Lake City. Buchanan says she and her husband were hanging drywall in their garage when they took off their shirts to keep their clothes from getting dusty. Buchanan also removed her bra.


Her three stepchildren asked why she wasn’t wearing a shirt, and she told the children that everyone should be fine walking around their own home with their skin showing.

"It was in the privacy of my own home. My husband was right next to me in the exact same manner, so I'm being prosecuted for it,” Buchanan said.

"When you look at this statute is there’s one - there’s a part of it that says a woman. This part of a woman is found inherently obscene, and this part of a man isn’t, and that really sets up an unequal, unfair dichotomy,” said Leah Farrell, Buchanan’s attorney.


Buchanan is facing three counts of lewdness in front of a child.


The judge is expected to rule in a couple of months.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Nov 20, 2019)

There feels like there’s more to this story. 

I am not a walk around the house naked type of person so maybe I just dont get it, but why do you have to go completely naked, especially in front of kids who are not biologically yours?

And the kids felt the need to report it, I’m assuming?


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## Theresamonet (Nov 20, 2019)

Who called the police? And why didn’t she just say “I didn’t have my shirt off... what breasts?” when the police came. 

This sounds like some kind of feminist ruse.


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## Everything Zen (Nov 20, 2019)

Need more information....


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## LiftedUp (Nov 20, 2019)

The children probably told their mother who reported it. I would too 

Why didn't  her husband tell her that it was inappropriate to have her breasts out in front his children? Why did she think it was appropriate? So many questions...


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## LostInAdream (Nov 20, 2019)

Idk what sis was doing topless hanging drywall but that’s her business but if children are around cover up. Im sure the kids mom reported her. She could’ve just said they walked in on them having sex because that sounds more believable.

Breasts are to feed babies. The fact that men have sexualized them and made it an obscene act is beyond me.


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## Leeda.the.Paladin (Nov 20, 2019)

Theresamonet said:


> Who called the police? And why didn’t she just say “I didn’t have my shirt off... what breasts?” when the police came.
> 
> This sounds like some kind of feminist ruse.


You are probably right. More info in this article:

*Utah woman could be registered as sex offender for going topless in front of stepkids *
By Jackie Salo

November 20, 2019 | 10:20am | Updated


Enlarge Image





Tilli BuchananAP
*MORE ON:*
*UTAH*
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A Utah woman is facing criminal charges — and could be forced to register as a sex offender — because her stepkids spotted her topless in her own home, according to a report.

Tilli Buchanan, 28, appeared in court Tuesday with her lawyers to ask a judge to dismiss the misdemeanor lewdness charges and strike down a law that prevents a woman from showing her breasts, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

“If we lose this, she’s on the sex offender registry with child rapists and things of that nature,” Buchanan’s attorney Randy Richards told the outlet. “The magnitude of the penalty on this is enormous.”

The Salt Lake City stepmon has been backed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah, which argues the state’s lewdness laws target and discriminate against women, the newspaper reported.

Buchanan is accused of stripping down with her husband to hang drywall in their garage, exposing her breasts to her three stepchildren, ages 13, 10 and 9.

When the kids asked why she wasn’t wearing a shirt, she told them that she considers herself a feminist and everyone should be able to walk around the house or elsewhere with their skin showing, Deseret News reported.

She was charged in February with lewdness for the incident — though her husband is not being prosecuted.

“In the statute, there’s one part of it that says this part of a woman is found inherently obscene and this part of a man isn’t,” ACLU of Utah attorney Leah Farrell said. “That really sets up an unequal and unfair dichotomy.”

If convicted, Buchanan could land in jail and spend 10 years on the sex offender registry, the outlet reported.


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## fluffyforever (Nov 20, 2019)

I understand being in her own home, but considering that the children aren’t biologically hers and she was intentionally out in the open when she knew the kids were around makes this questionable to me. Subjecting kids to nudity in spaces where they should feel safe is the issue I have a problem with. I feel the same way about a man with his shirt off. Don’t put kids in uncomfortable situations intentionally. 

I also feel that the law is ridiculous since breasts aren’t obscene. But that’s a separate issue to me.


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## CarefreeinChicago (Nov 20, 2019)

Did I read that correct they took their shirts off to hang drywall? I watch a lot of HGTV and they don’t do that


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## Sosoothing (Nov 20, 2019)

CarefreeinChicago said:


> Did I read that correct they took their shirts off to hang drywall? I watch a lot of HGTV and they don’t do that



I thought the same thing too..Lol. 
So they preferred the chemicals on their skin rather than having their clothes on as a barrier. Interesting.


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## chocolat79 (Nov 21, 2019)

CarefreeinChicago said:


> Did I read that correct they took their shirts off to hang drywall? I watch a lot of HGTV and they don’t do that


 plus, they didn't have any old ratty clothes that they could hang dry wall in? I'm sure they have more than suits and dresses in their closet.


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## intellectualuva (Nov 21, 2019)

Weird story....lol


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## Kanky (Nov 21, 2019)

I don’t think that exposing boobs should be a crime. I think that women should be able to breastfeed in public without fear of prison. It’s a stupid law, and most people will cover up anyway because most people aren’t looking to be nude in front of others. Most of the titties I’ve seen in public spaces have belonged to fat men, and if the law doesn’t make them cover up then they need to leave women alone.


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## Ms. Tarabotti (Nov 21, 2019)

It's one thing to be topless in front of children that you have birthed (if your family swings that way), it's another to do this in front of someone else's children. From other articles, it seems that there is an ongoing custody dispute and this situation came to light because of this. The birth mother was 'alarmed' at what was happening in front of her children. The step mother is a 'feminist' who wanted to teach her step kids that women should be able to go topless just like men can.

The 13 year old and the 9 year old are boys and the 10 year old is a girl. Even if she believed that men and women should be able to go topless equally, I think that she should have remained covered up in the presence of the older boy. If he is going through puberty, he might be confused at his reactions to seeing his step mothers bare breasts.


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## RoundEyedGirl504 (Nov 21, 2019)

Well this is crazy all around. Not sex offender crazy but certainly crazy.


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## Lylddlebit (Nov 21, 2019)

This is when "I love them like my own" bites you in the butt.   You need boundaries with other people's children period. Nothing will prove you are not mom or dad quicker than trying to pull something an actually parent can get away with.


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## Reinventing21 (Nov 21, 2019)

I don't think parents or step parents should purposely walk around the house naked/half naked in front of pre-teen/teen children especially. Kids don't want to see that.  It is about boundaries.

I don't know enough about this particular case to decide whether or not she should be a registered sex offender or not...but their rationale for taking off their clothes is very weird and perhaps does need to be investigated. If I were the biological mom,  I would likely have an issue.


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## Southernbella. (Nov 21, 2019)

Sorry but I have to side with bio mom here.


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## dicapr (Nov 21, 2019)

Kanky said:


> I don’t think that exposing boobs should be a crime. I think that women should be able to breastfeed in public without fear of prison. It’s a stupid law, and most people will cover up anyway because most people aren’t looking to be nude in front of others. Most of the titties I’ve seen in public spaces have belonged to fat men, and if the law doesn’t make them cover up then they need to leave women alone.



It wouldn’t be appropriate for a man to be shirtless in front of his step daughters either.


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## Kanky (Nov 21, 2019)

dicapr said:


> It wouldn’t be appropriate for a man to be shirtless in front of his step daughters either.


 So no beach trips or pools for mixed families huh?

The stepmother is inappropriate, but being topless shouldn’t be a criminal offense.


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## dicapr (Nov 21, 2019)

Kanky said:


> So no beach trips or pools for mixed families huh?
> 
> The stepmother is inappropriate, but being topless shouldn’t be a criminal offense.


There are things that are appropriate in certain settings. And no, a man should not be walking around in an area where people are clothed shirtless. Just like it would be inappropriate for a woman to be around her step kids in her underwear where it would be normal and permissible for her to be at the beach with bikini bottoms.


And if breast our society didn’t have a connotation of sexuality push up bras, low cut dresses with “sex” appeal, and breast enhancement surgeries wouldn’t be a thing if they were strictly for feeding babies. 

ETA: I don’t think she is a sex offender but she needs to keep her gender politics away from her step kids.


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## GinnyP (Nov 21, 2019)

I truly believe people are being sprayed with stupidity.  There is no more common sense, respect or decency anymore.  
Reading all these posts and stories today..........I just..... want to run and hide in a town called Denial.
Where I can go to the grocery store again and spend only $68.00 for a cart full of groceries.  I spent $178.00 for what? The only thing I bought relating to Thanksgiving ...was one can of cranberry sauce.
Okay I got off the subject.


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## Farida (Nov 21, 2019)

I think it is weird but I don’t think she should be a registered sex offender.


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## 1QTPie (Nov 22, 2019)

Was there sexual contact or sexual intent?


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## Kanky (Nov 22, 2019)

dicapr said:


> There are things that are appropriate in certain settings. And no, a man should not be walking around in an area where people are clothed shirtless. Just like it would be inappropriate for a woman to be around her step kids in her underwear where it would be normal and permissible for her to be at the beach with bikini bottoms.
> 
> 
> And if breast our society didn’t have a connotation of sexuality push up bras, low cut dresses with “sex” appeal, and breast enhancement surgeries wouldn’t be a thing if they were strictly for feeding babies.
> ...



There is no part of the body that doesn’t have some sex appeal in addition to another purpose. Go back far enough and people would’ve claimed that it was sexy to expose an ankle but if the mother complained about the kids seeing stepmom’s legs then we’d all see right away how nutty this is.

You acknowledge that there is an appropriate time and place to wear certain things. There are plenty of normal people who consider their home a reasonable place to be topless or to hang around in their undies. I am not one of those people, but I mind my own business. 

The topless stepmother was standing right by the topless father, who also seemed to think that toplesssness was ok at that time. I also think it is fine for the mother to object and go to court over it. They have different standards for appropriate behavior in the home and will have to hash it out since they aren’t together. If I were the judge she’d lose if that was all she had. The father and stepmother have the right to set standards for their home, even if some of those standards are weird to me. It is legit crazy to arrest a woman and charge her with being a child sexual predator for doing home maintenance in the garage without a shirt on while standing by the shirtless father who is not being accused of being a sexual predator.

One of the downsides to being divorced is having less control over what goes on in your kids’ home at times. There are all kinds of weird to me things that other people do that aren’t “wrong” and shouldn’t necessarily be stopped and punished by law.


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## LiftedUp (Nov 22, 2019)

Kanky said:


> The topless stepmother was standing right by the topless father, who also seemed to think that toplesssness was ok at that time. I also think it is fine for the mother to object and go to court over it. They have different standards for appropriate behavior in the home and will have to hash it out since they aren’t together. *If I were the judge she’d lose if that was all she had. The father and stepmother have the right to set standards for their home, even if some of those standards are weird to me. It is legit crazy to arrest a woman and charge her with being a child sexual predator for doing home maintenance in the garage without a shirt on while standing by the shirtless father who is not being accused of being a sexual predator*.



The children were uncomfortable, hence the reason asking why she wasn't wearing a shirt and reporting the incident to their mother. It's their home too and should be a safe space, not one where you're afraid to walk into the garage lest you see your stepmother's exposed breasts. I wouldn't be surprised if there were other incidents leading up to this. I'm pretty sure that the judge will consider the children's feelings in this matter.


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## Kanky (Nov 22, 2019)

LiftedUp said:


> The children were uncomfortable, hence the reason asking why she wasn't wearing a shirt and reporting the incident to their mother. It's their home too and should be a safe space, not one where you're afraid to walk into the garage lest you see your stepmother's exposed breasts. I wouldn't be surprised if there were other incidents leading up to this. I'm pretty sure that the judge will consider the children's feelings in this matter.



The mother waited an entire year and then had the stepmother charged with being a child sex predator for having her shirt off in the garage while hanging drywall.  Who knows if the kids were actually “scared” or if they just rolled their eyes and moved on. We don’t even know the gender of the children involved. If they are girls then this is even more ridiculous. 

I’m guessing that the mother did this because a family judge court wouldn’t give her what she wanted, so she decided to see if a criminal court would help. If she can brand the stepmother as a pervert then she can get custody of at least make her ex miserable.


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## Kanky (Nov 22, 2019)

https://outline.com/VxYqNx

I just went to read a few more articles about this with additional details. The mother is being investigated by CPS and brought this incident with the stepmother up after that investigation started.

Like many criminal cases, critical details are in dispute. No one can quite pinpoint when this incident took place. Buchanan thinks it happened in fall 2016, while prosecutors put the timeframe as November 2017 and January 2018.

According to Buchanan, she had been in the garage that day with her husband, wearing long-sleeved shirts and protective clothing. They were sweaty and itchy, so they stripped down to their underwear, leaving their dirty clothes near a doorway so they could take a shower. That’s when the kids — a 13-year-old boy, a 10-year-old girl and a 9-year-old boy — saw her without her top on.

West Valley City Deputy Attorney Corey Sherwin offers a different account in court papers: He alleges that Buchanan stripped down in front of her stepchildren after making a statement about how if her husband could take off his shirt, then a woman should be able to as well.

He further alleges that Buchanan, while “under the influence of alcohol,” had told her husband that she would only put her shirt back on if he showed her his penis.
*
The police became involved in the situation after the Division of Child and Family Services began an investigation involving the children that was unrelated to Buchanan. Though it was not the focus of the initial investigation, Sherwin wrote, the children’s mother reported it to authorities because she was “alarmed” about what had happened in front of her kids.
*​The woman is still married to the father and living with the kids years later. I am not buying that she got drunk to work in the garage and then stripped and tried to get her husband to show his peen to the kids. Not buying it because that’s the kind of thing that kids would tell their mother and the mother would tell the police/CPS immediately not years after when she is being investigated herself.


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## ClassyJSP (Nov 22, 2019)

Kanky said:


> The mother waited an entire year and then had the stepmother charged with being a child sex predator for having her shirt off in the garage while hanging drywall.  Who knows if the kids were actually “scared” or if they just rolled their eyes and moved on. We don’t even know the gender of the children involved. If they are girls then this is even more ridiculous.
> 
> I’m guessing that the mother did this because a family judge court wouldn’t give her what she wanted, so she decided to see if a criminal court would help. If she can brand the stepmother as a pervert then she can get custody of at least make her ex miserable.



I agree 

If the mother waited an entire year to report this and have the stepmother charged this is  not about those kids.


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## discodumpling (Nov 24, 2019)

This is weird and she needs to be punished. She ain't their Mama and should not be forcing her ways on them. She shouldn't have to register as a sex offender but there has to be some sort of punishment so she wont ever do it again in front of other peoples children.


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## moneychaser (Nov 24, 2019)

GinnyP said:


> I truly believe people are being sprayed with stupidity.  There is no more common sense, respect or decency anymore.
> Reading all these posts and stories today..........I just..... want to run and hide in a town called Denial.
> Where I can go to the grocery store again and spend only $68.00 for a cart full of groceries.  I spent $178.00 for what? The only thing I bought relating to Thanksgiving ...was one can of cranberry sauce.
> Okay I got off the subject.



I feel you!  Times have changed.  I stay clutching my pearls!!

My mom says it’s the drugs that have made people so off these days.


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## ThirdEyeBeauty (Nov 24, 2019)

discodumpling said:


> This is weird and she needs to be punished. She ain't their Mama and should not be forcing her ways on them. She shouldn't have to register as a sex offender but there has to be some sort of punishment so she wont ever do it again in front of other peoples children.


The family needs to handle it/punish her just like people should handle a stupid man from taking off his shirt in front of children.  If there is more to the story than taking off shirt, then legal actions.  There seems to be other problems going on in this family though.


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## Kanky (Nov 24, 2019)

discodumpling said:


> This is weird and she needs to be punished. She ain't their Mama and should not be forcing her ways on them. She shouldn't have to register as a sex offender but there has to be some sort of punishment so she wont ever do it again in front of other peoples children.



If the father and stepmother’s story is true then the kids literally walked in a moment after they both stripped off dirty protective clothing to go take showers. I don’t think that needs punishment. And what about the father? Does he get to “force his ways” on the kids? He was standing right there and is still married to the woman and claiming that she didn’t do anything wrong.

I think that the exposed boobs= criminal law needs to be overturned. Even the biological mother or an older sister could’ve been arrested the way that it is written now. There’s no exception for relatives.


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## Reinventing21 (Nov 25, 2019)

^^That's why I was wondering if there was more to the story because otherwise it seems like something that could happen to anybody. I still find it UNUSUAL to strip to put up drywall, saying you don't want to get chemicals on your clothes...like you prefer it on your skin?

That's why I wonder if there are more instances of inappropriate behavior.


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## ThirdEyeBeauty (Nov 25, 2019)

I knew people who took off their socks because they did not want their socks to get dirty.   I never understood that and gave up trying.  Anything is possible.


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## intellectualuva (Nov 25, 2019)

Reinventing21 said:


> ^^That's why I was wondering if there was more to the story because otherwise it seems like something that could happen to anybody. I still find it UNUSUAL to strip to put up drywall, saying you don't want to get chemicals on your clothes...like you prefer it on your skin?
> 
> That's why I wonder if there are more instances of inappropriate behavior.



I kept wondering if it's a misprint and they took off their clothes after hanging drywall and stripped in the garage and was caught somewhere between there and the shower by the kids. 

But yeah I guess people can decide to do the work naked from the waist up...even if it seems silly.


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