Stories about noisy kinksters scaring the neighbors and getting a visit from the local authorities are not uncommon. I featured the story of Mistress Evilyne and her nosy neighbors a few posts back. The latest example is this story from Germany featuring a vocal kinky couple. I’m not sure whether to be impressed or scared that the police had to force the door down to get their attention.
This kind of thing might seem amusing, but it can have very significant consequences. In many US states, including mine, the police have a mandatory arrest law for domestic violence. What this means is that the police will always arrest someone if they believe there is probably cause that any kind of domestic violence occurred in the last few hours. It doesn’t matter what the ‘victim’ says or what the context was – somebody is going away in the back of the police car. The word of a neighbor, marks on a body or just an anonymous report of suspected violence is enough to get you arrested with no discretion allowed.
I understand the rational behind the law. A genuine victim of domestic violence needs the opportunity to escape from his or her abuser. They might not feel able to speak up until they’ve been separated. Yet for kinksters it can have serious consequences. It’s one thing to have your friends and neighbors know you’re kinky. Quite another to have them think you’re a domestic abuser after seeing you taken away in a police car.
I actually know (indirectly) of a Seattle couple this happened to. They thought their playroom was more soundproof than it actually was. The end result was not only an arrest after the neighbors reported the noise, but a full blown court case featuring their friends called as witnesses. It didn’t matter that the submissive repeatedly told everyone it was consensual activity. Justice is not only blind, but also slow and frequently stupid.
I’m not sure who these lovely whip marks belong to, but I hope they were inflicted in a soundproof space. They look like they’d have resulted in some serious screaming.