Flasher sentenced to 5 1/2 months jail, 6 months probation for repeat offense

On August 31, Jerome Dean Pummel, 47, of Muskegon Township, MI, was sentenced to 5 1/2 months in prison, and 6 months probation by Muskegon County's 14th Circuit Court Judge James M. Graves Jr. In addition, Graves ordered Pummel to spend 6 months on tether are remain in an outpatient sex offender treatment program, and pay $328 in fines.

The incident occured February 24, 2009 when Pummel exposed himself, wearing only a shirt, to a young neighbor next door through his window while pleasuring himself. Pummel was charged in March, and plead guilty last month.

Aggravated indecent exposure is ordinarily a high-court misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of two years in prison.

But under a 1952 Michigan statute, the mandatory penalty for a person the sentencing judge finds to be "sexually delinquent" is one day to life in prison. The law defines a sexually delinquent person as anyone "whose sexual behavior is characterized by repetitive or compulsive acts which indicate a disregard of consequences or the recognized rights of others."

Pummel was charged with aggravated indecent exposure for violating his parole for another indecent exposure conviction back in 2008.