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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; After only 45 minutes of deliberations, a jury decided a Luzerne man who was working as a freelance photographer was not guilty of exposing himself at a Plymouth flea market.</p><p>Clark Van Orden, 68, was on trial this week after he was accused of exposing his genitals at a flea market at Fainberg&#8217;s Furniture store on Dec. 10, 2016. Van Orden was on a freelance photo assignment for the opening of the flea market for the Times Leader Media Group.</p><p>Van Orden was an independent contractor for the newspaper at the time of the incident and not an employee.</p><p>Jurors got the case at 12:15 p.m. Thursday.</p><p>By 1 p.m., they had their verdict: not guilty on all counts.</p><p>The day began with closing arguments from defense attorney Joseph Sklarosky.</p><p>He argued flea market co-owner Nancy McEntee&#8217;s story about Van Orden allegedly exposing himself to her was simply not believable.</p><p>&#8220;As I see it, this case rises and falls on the credibility and believability of its witness,&#8221; he said.</p><p>&#8220;I say to you the Commonwealth has woefully not met their burden of proof in this case,&#8221; he went on.</p><p>Sklarosky said it was unreasonable to think that a man who planned to expose himself would do so while wearing around his neck an ID card with his name and place of employment.</p><p>Sklarosky also found McEntee&#8217;s hiring of a lawyer suspicious, suggesting once again that she planned on &#8220;cashing in&#8221; on a lawsuit against the Times Leader.</p><p>No such lawsuit has been filed.</p><p>He also focused on McEntee&#8217;s claim on the stand of hiring the lawyer to &#8220;defend herself.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;Did she do something that maybe she jumped the gun on?&#8221; Sklarosky asked. &#8220;Did she misinterpret something that was going on and now she was maybe feeling some guilt about it?&#8221;</p><p>Assistant District Attorney Angela Sperrazza, though, said it was Van Orden&#8217;s story that makes no sense, focusing on Sklarosky&#8217;s claim of a plot to get money.</p><p>&#8220;That&#8217;s supposed to be reasonable, that this is a well-concocted scheme and plot by the sly McEntees,&#8221; she argued.</p><p>She asked the jurors to consider, if it were a plot by the McEntees, why they picked Van Orden, and not the Citizens&#8217; Voice news team, which first reported on the opening of the store.</p><p>And if the McEntees planned on filing a lawsuit, she said their window has closed since the statute of limitations has expired.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s not going to be a settlement, there&#8217;s not going to be a lawsuit,&#8221; Sperrazza said.</p><p>She also mentioned how Sklarosky questioned McEntee about Van Orden&#8217;s anatomy &#8212; he asked if Van Orden was circumcised to establish if she truly saw him expose himself.</p><p>&#8220;She didn&#8217;t take the time to examine every part of his anatomy, but she knew she saw a penis,&#8221; Sperrazza said. &#8220;Just like you might not be able to say what the color of my eyes was, but you knew that I was looking at you.&#8221;</p><p>After the jury rendered their verdict, the McEntees declined to comment to reporters.</p><p>Sklarosky, though, said he was &#8220;very happy&#8221; that Van Orden had been acquitted.</p><p>&#8220;Clark&#8217;s a good and decent man, and I&#8217;m convinced beyond all doubt that Clark didn&#8217;t do these things,&#8221; Sklarosky said, suggesting McEntee misinterpreted Van Orden scratching himself.</p><p>He also pointed out how quickly the jury returned their verdict.</p><p>&#8220;Apparently, they were all feeling the same way,&#8221; he said.</p><style>
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<div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Clark-Van-Orden.cmyk_.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Van Orden </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/web1_Clark-Van-Orden.cmyk_.jpg</photo0><caption0>Van Orden </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Patrick Kernan</p><p>pkernan@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Patrick Kernan at 570-991-6386 or on Twitter @PatKernan</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Jury finds photographer not guilty in exposure case