South Carolina Truck Testicles Get Driver Arrested
A police officer in South Carolina has clamped down on a driver for inappropriately decorating his car with an obscene object; the officer pulled over a truck for having replica testicles dangling from the hitch of the vehicle.
A Spartanburg County Sheriff's Officer pulled over Joe Cervantes-Rodriguez, 31, after he noticed the "anatomically correct" display hanging from the back of the truck.
"This vehicle was displaying an obscene object from the rear bumper. This object was a pair of large fleshy testicles. This item was flesh colored, anatomically correct, approximately the size of a softball, and in clear view of the public and other motorist," according to a report filed by the arresting officer.
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During the traffic stop the officer also discovered that Rodriguez did not have a valid driver's license in any state. He told the officer that he had valid insurance and vehicle registration, but that he had moved to the U.S. six months ago.
He was subsequently arrested for that offense, but issued a citation for the obscene display. He removed the display before he was allowed to call someone to pick up the vehicle.
It is against the law in South Carolina to operate a motor vehicle that displays "any sticker, decal, emblem or other device containing obscene or indecent words, photographs or depictions."
The law continues to state that any object is considered obscene when "taken as a whole, it describes, in a patently offensive way, as determined by contemporary community standards...parts of the human body" and also "lacks serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value."
This is not the first incident involving the object which is known by the trademark name "TruckNutz" in the state. Sixty-five-year-old Virginia Tice has taken the issue to court. She was issued a $445 ticket for displaying truck nuts on her pickup last summer. Tice is claiming free speech, but the case has been delayed three times, according to AP.
