Commonwealth v. Nebel

The defendant, Robert Nebel, was convicted of lewd, wanton and lascivious conduct, G. L. c. 272, § 53, and abandonment of an infant under age of ten, G. L. c. 119, § 39.1 Basically, the case boils down to two issues2: (1) Was the *317defendant’s sex act public in nature? and (2) Did the defendant’s actions, in leaving his three and one-half year old child in an unattended car, support a conviction of child abandonment? We affirm the former conviction and reverse the latter.

Facts. On October 24, 2000, at approximately 5:00 p.m., Trooper James O’Leary was on patrol and checking on the well being of…