South African artist Steven Cohen (R) arrives at the Paris courthouse for his trial, on May 5, 2014, in Paris. Cohen is standing trial over allegations of sexual exhibitionism after a performance last September in Paris during which he showed his penis trimmed with ribbon, and attached to a rooster. AFP
PARIS – A Paris court on Monday found a South African artist guilty of sexual exhibitionism after a performance in Paris that saw him dance with a rooster tied to his penis.
But the criminal court imposed no penalty on the artist, 51-year-old Steven Cohen, noting that no complaint had been filed against him and that he had not engaged in sexual acts.
Prosecutors had requested a 1,000 euro ($1,390) fine.
Cohen was arrested last September after the performance in a busy public square near the Eiffel Tower.
Sporting platform shoes and an outlandish costume including feathers on his fingers and a headdress made of a stuffed pheasant, he danced for 10 minutes with his penis attached to the rooster, before police stepped in.
“What I did was art (that) had nothing to do with sexuality,” he had told the court, adding that no one — even a group of passing nuns — had complained about the performance.