Pierce County prosecutors on Tuesday filed a misdemeanor charge of unlawful public exposure against a bikini barista spotted last year serving coffee while wearing only pasties on her breasts.
It’s the first time Pierce County prosecutors have leveled such a charge since some area espresso stand owners began requiring their baristas to show skin in addition to making drinks.
Charged was Megan Elizabeth Lenn, 19. She will be issued a summons to appear in court during the next few weeks, deputy prosecutor Kevin Benton said.
Benton said he charged Lenn because her alleged conduct, if true, would constitute “a blantant violation” of the county ordinance banning public nudity.
Efforts to reach her or the owners of the Bikini Bottoms espresso stand where she works were unsuccessful.
A woman driving by the stand at 7919 176th St. E. on Oct. 7 called sheriff’s deputies after she spotted Lenn outside the stand. She was wearing a thong bikini bottom and no top, according to court records.
A deputy dispatched to investigate the call found Lenn inside the stand making drinks, according to an arrest report. Lenn was topless but had X-shaped pasties covering her nipples, the report states.
Lenn became angry when told she would be cited for indecent exposure and began to yell that baristas at other stands also wore pasties on the job, deputy Kevin Fries wrote in his report.
“I asked Lenn if she was aware that it was illegal to wear the pasties in public,” Fries wrote. “She said no. Lenn said that the female owner, Cheryl England, had told her and the other girls that it was OK to wear them.”
Lenn then went into the back of the stand, removed the pasties and put on a bikini top, Fries continued.
The deputy confiscated the pasties and booked them into the South Hill precinct property room as evidence, his report states.
Adam Lynn: 253-597-8644
adam.lynn@thenewstribune.com
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