Is Noisy Sex Criminal? Maybe in Italy ...

Think your neighbors love to complain? Just imagine how one Italian man felt when his neighbors filed a noise complaint against him and took him to court. The 42-year-old Padua man (name withheld) was accused by no less than a dozen neighbors of excessively loud sex. According to the complaint, whenever his girlfriend slept over, their "screams and moans disturbed the peace … and the building's decorum."

The offender was served with a "stalking" charge, which in Italy can pertain to an act of a sexual nature that disturbs citizens in their own homes. The man was then given a six-month prison sentence, which not surprisingly, he intends to appeal. He has told the press that his only crime was "being too good at sex."

Italy is not new to court cases involving sex. In 2010, a woman was given a court order to "stop screaming and moaning during sex." She subsequently violated the order, but served no time. Last year, an Italian court heard the case of a woman from Genoa who accused her husband of withholding sex from her. Courts were then left to determine whether refusal of sex constitutes maltreatment. In France, a similar case, in which a man refused to have sex with his wife, led to his being fined 10,000 Euros.

Should couples' sex lives be litigated in court? Should people actually have to serve time for engaging in loud and enthusiastic sex? Isn't this what condo boards are for? Are charges like these the result of jealousy from others, or of a simple desire for quiet? Instead of serving time, perhaps the 42-year-old sex machine could just buy his neighbors some noise-canceling headphones. Or maybe his neighbors could take a cue from his antics and try to beat him at his own game. (Read our article on The Science of Exhibitionism for tips on how to enjoy thrills, such as having an audience, without court time.)