A judge in Utah refused to side with a woman who went topless in front of her stepchildren, increasing the chances she will be forced to register as a sex offender.

Tilli Buchanan, 27, is fighting against three counts of lewdness toward a child after taking of her top in her own home in West Valley City in front of her three stepchildren, aged between nine and 13.

The charges could result in jail time or in Buchanan being forced to register as a sex offender for 10 years.

Tilli Buchanan, (left), sits in court with Randy Richards, (right), her attorney, during deliberations. She faces criminal charges after her stepchildren saw her topless at home.

Tilli Buchanan, (left), sits with Randy Richards, (right), her attorney, during deliberations in a case where Buchanan was charged with criminal lewdness involving a child.

A judge refused to overturn part of Utah´s lewdness law Tuesday, siding with prosecutors who argued that lewdness is commonly understood to include women´s breasts in American society, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Judges should not second-guess what lawmakers have decided is lewd conduct, wrote Judge Kara Pettit.

Buchanan claims she and her husband Jared removed their tops while installing insulation in their garage to rinse the itchy material off their skin.

She says the three stepchildren, two boys aged 13 and nine and a ten-year-old girl, then appeared 'embarrassed.'

Tilli Buchanan and her husband Jared. The 27-year-old claims that Utah's lewdness law is unconstitutional as because it discriminates against women only going topless.

Tilli Buchanan, her husband Jared and their three stepchildren in costume. The children's mother is believed to have reported the incident to police who claim Buchanan was drunk.

The 27-year-old claims she explained to them not to be embarrassed as it was the same as their father being topless.

When her husband´s three children walked in, she 'explained she considers herself a feminist and wanted to make a point that everybody should be fine with walking around their house or elsewhere with skin showing,' her lawyers said in court documents.

Police claim that Buchanan was drunk, however, and had stripped to prove a point to the children, refusing to put her top back on before her husband exposed his penis.

The children's mother informed police of the incident. Child Protective Services Child Protective Services was already investigating the family for an unrelated matter when the incident was discussed.

Buchanan's husband Jared has not been charged.

It was not immediately clear whether Buchanan would appeal Tuesday's ruling. If she does not, her misdemeanor charges would move toward trial. If convicted, she could face jail time and be forced to register as a sex offender for ten years.

Buchanan and the American Civil Liberties Union of Utah had pointed to a court ruling that overturned a topless ban in Colorado and helped fuel a movement.

They said Utah´s law on lewdness involving a child is unfair because it treats men and women differently for baring their chests.

Judge Kara Pettit, center, speaks in court in November last year during earlier deliberations.

Tilli Buchanan, her husband Jared and their three stepchildren in costume. Buchanan is charged with three counts of lewdness toward a child. If charged, she could face jail time.

Buchanan insists she did nothing wrong and was only trying to teach the children about feminism.

'I was devastated. Because the moment I took to teach the kids, it was kind of smashed. Like you can’t teach kids this,' she told the the Salt Lake Tribune.

'In fact, you’re going to be charged for even bringing this up.

'It’s not like at the forefront of my brain. I’m not going to go sign up for the "Free the Nipple" cause. I just thought, "This is cool, this is really awesome and natural." It’s not a thing to me. It’s never been a thing.'

A global movement advocating for the rights of women to go topless, called the Free the Nipple campaign, has seen mixed success fighting similar ordinances in other parts of the country.

The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a ruling that blocked a ban in Fort Collins, Colorado, on women going topless in public.

But the U.S. Supreme Court this month left in place the conviction of three members of the Free the Nipple campaign who were arrested for going topless on a New Hampshire beach in 2016.