Nudists charged with stealing water to fill pool

Matthew Diebel | USA TODAY

Call it bare-faced cheek.

The owners of a drought-hit Northern California nudist camp and two employees have been charged with stealing water from a neighboring property, in part to fill the camp's swimming pool, according to local media reports.

The complaint filed by the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office this month alleges that the owners of the Lupin Lodge clothing-optional resort, Glyn Stout, 77, and his wife Lori Kay Stout, 53, piped water from a nearby creek despite numerous warnings to stop. Two live-in employees, Michael Buckland, 38 and John Berryessa, 49, also were charged.

The four also face six misdemeanor charges, including trespassing on land managed by the Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District, which protects wildlife habitat. In photos taken by the district's wildlife cameras, the workers appear fully clothed while engaging in such activities as stringing a hose about half a mile upstream to a waterfall, prosecutor Denise Raabe said, according the San Jose Mercury News.

If convicted, they face up to three years in county jail. The Stouts are due to be arraigned in July.

The lodge, located near Los Gatos in the Bay Area, was stealing about 6,000 gallons of creek water per day for more than seven weeks, Midpeninsula assistant general manager Kevin Woodhouse told the Los Angeles Times last year.

After discovering the alleged diversion, rangers from Midpeninsula arrived at the camp and ripped out a pipeline that had been funneling water to the resort, according to the Mercury News.



After the charges were made, Lori Kay Stout told the paper that the resort remains open and is soon to celebrate "80 years of body acceptance and freedom," including "freeing the nipple."

Pete Siemens, president of the open space district's board, told the Mercury News that the alleged theft robbed wildlife of desperately needed water, adding that the defendants also drove on roads the district had closed, disturbing the agency's effort to restore the land, which had been strewn with illegal dwellings and old cars.

"The property is of regional ecological significance because of its diverse habitats and its connections to regional water systems," the district said in a written statement.

The Stouts told the Times in 2014 that they have a historic right to the water, which they said they have used since a drought in the 1970s and need to keep an 87,000-gallon water tank full in case of fire and for topping off the skinny-dipping pool near the clubhouse.

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The lodge began to feel the effects of the drought in 2014, Lori Kay Stout told the Times, leading the owners to truck in water and to ask visitors to the property to bring three gallons of water with them during their stay.

"We haven't had this happen since the 1970s drought," she said.

In addition, the lodge streamlined its restaurant menu, let grass areas go brown and advised guests to take short, quick showers, Stout added.