A Grand Jury in Overland Park on Friday ruled that a bare-breasted sculpture in a public arboretum does not violate Kansas obscenity laws.

The Johnson County panel deliberated for less than a day before deciding not to issue an indictment.

The sculpture at the Overland Park Arboretum by Chinese artist Yu Chang, depicts a headless female with her chest exposed taking a photograph of herself.

The 15-member panel issued the following statement: “We sat for one day and viewed the photographs of the statue. We reviewed the Kansas law and found that the sculpture in question did not meet the legal definition of obscenity.”

The grand jury was called after a petition drive by the American Family Association of Kansas and Missouri.

On its Web site, the AFA posted the following call to arms along with this edited photograph of the sculpture: “In early May of 2012, Joanne Hughes was walking in the Overland Park Arboretum with her husband and children. They were shockingly confronted with a bronze sculpture of a headless woman with aroused, naked breasts, taking a picture of herself.

“Joanne was moved to call Overland park officials only to discover that no one she spoke to thought that there was any problem with exposing children to the sculpture. Joanne disagreed and she started an online petition to give citizens a voice in the matter.

“However, Overland Park refused to hear from the 2700+ citizens and denied her request for a hearing. So…Joanne contacted us.”

The group was able to help Hughes gather the 4,500 signatures needed to call the Grand Jury.