Court drops case in nude photo shoot at NYC museum

[November 24, 2009]  NEW YORK (AP) -- Nude, yes. Lewd, no.

A New York judge dismissed public lewdness and other charges Monday against a model who posed for a nude photo shoot at a museum while visitors looked on.

Kathleen "K.C." Neill was arrested in August during photographer Zach Hyman's shoot in the arms and armor department at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Defense lawyer Thomas J. Hillgardner says Neill did nothing indecent while posing in an institution full of depictions of nudes. He says she was making art and he noted court rulings saying public nakedness isn't necessarily lewd.

Prosecutors say they aren't sure they could prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.

The museum had no immediate comment. Hyman calls the charges "completely absurd."

[Associated Press]

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