Urine a Lot of Trouble, Mr. Patton: Ohio Man Arrested for Collecting Boys’ Urine for Personal Consumption

If you ever wondered why we needed a catch-all criminal mischief provision, Allan Patton, 56, has the answer. Patton shut-off the urinals at the Hilliard West Municipal Pool in Ohio and inserted cups so that he could drink the urine of boys. He suffers from what is known as urophilia – which either means being really really crazy or having a sexual fetish involving urine — or both. The case, however, does present a novel issue of the appropriate criminal charge.

Patton is on home confinement pending trial. Previously, Patton was escorted out of the restrooms at Dublin’s Sports Ohio, where he was lurking.

The key to charge here would be tampering with the urinals, presumably. The interesting aspect of the crime is that urine is discarded and, therefore, trash and valueless. The Supreme Court in cases like Greenwood held that owners have no expectation of privacy in their trash. My guess is that he also did not cause damage to the urinals by merely shutting them off. That leaves trespass and criminal mischief. The problem with the latter charge is precisely its advantage — it is very ambiguous so that it can be used in a wide range of cases.

He is a registered sex offender so he can likely be charged for simply violating court orders on staying away from areas frequented by children. This is not some harmless guy with a disgusting fetish. He previously was sentenced for assaulting boys.

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