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Associated Press - November 23, 2009 7:25 PM ET
NEW YORK (AP) - Nude, yes. Lewd, no.
A New York judge Monday dismissed public lewdness and other charges against a model involved in a nude photo shoot in the Metropolitan Museum of Art while visitors looked on.
Kathleen "K.C." Neill was arrested in August during photographer Zach Hyman's shoot inside the museum's arms and armor department.
Defense lawyer Thomas J. Hillgardner says Neill did nothing indecent while posing in an institution full of depictions of nudes. He says she was making art, and he notes court rulings saying public nakedness isn't necessarily lewd.
Prosecutors say they aren't sure they could prove the charges beyond reasonable doubt.
The museum had no immediate comment. Hyman calls the charges "completely absurd."
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