Super Bowl streaker wants trial

I'm trying, I'm really trying, not to make a joke about what a jury of his peers might look like:

With more than 70,000 witnesses, it will be hard for Mark Roberts to claim innocence.

But the 39-year-old Briton, also known as "the Super Bowl streaker" since he darted across the Reliant Stadium field wearing nothing but a thong on Feb. 1, plans to take his misdemeanor case to trial.

Roberts, of Liverpool, England, was in Houston on Thursday as his June 21 jury trial was scheduled on a charge that could land him in the Harris County Jail for up to 180 days if he is convicted.

He acknowledges walking past multiple layers of security before sprinting onto the field, where he tore off a phony referee's uniform to reveal an online casino ad painted on his skin.

But Roberts insists he had no idea that running onto the field was prohibited.

"He is charged with criminal trespassing, not streaking," said his attorney, Sharon Levine. "The way the law is, you are entitled to a warning."

New England Patriots linebacker Matt Chatham knocked Roberts off his feet, and police carried him off the field.

Six Harris County jurors will hear the case before Criminal Court at Law Judge Diane Bull.

"The main issue is for us to separate out what his action was on the field and get to whether he actually violated criminal trespass," Levine said.

Roberts claims to have streaked more than 300 times. He has criminal cases pending in England and Paris, according to his Web site.

In other news, Governor Perry's office has strenuously denied that they are considering adding a "streaking tax" to their list of school finance reform proposals.

Posted by Charles Kuffner on April 23, 2004 to Crime and Punishment | TrackBack