BOLIVAR, Tenn. — Four high school students at Bolivar Central were charged with indecent exposure and two ended up sitting in a jail cell for 48 hours for having sagging pants this week. However, the students reportedly did not break a law.
“I think jail time might be a little too much, but at the same time there has been a lot of sagging pants,” parent Crystal Wing told WMC Action 5 News.
Student Antonio Ammons and one other student spent 48 hours in the Hardeman County Criminal Justice Complex following the charges levied by School Resource Officer Charles Woods for indecent exposure.
While Woods, Hardeman County School Director Warner Ross II and Bolivar Central High School principal Jeff Barnes did not return calls for comment, Woods stated in the incident report that the pant sagging occurred on more than one occasion.
While it is unclear why only two of the four individuals charged for indecent exposure were jailed, Action News 5 contacted attorney Leslie Ballin who stated saggy pants do not constitute indecent exposure under Tennessee Law.
Ammon, who lives with his great-grandmother, says he “really didn’t like it” regarding his time in jail, and now must find the means to pay the $250 in court costs and fines associated with the charges.
When asked for an opinion on the matter, student Jordan Perry stated “I don’t think it’s necessary to go to jail for saggy pants, but I think the school should have some kind of punishment though.”
Another student, Cheyenne Lindsey said, “I think it’s just a little harsh. They didn’t need to go to that extreme.”