The High-Tech Peeping Tom

With  increasingly advanced video and digital camera equipment comes the threat of the video voyeur.  Before handheld video cameras became a household item during the 1990's, the neighborhood deviant would be forced to actually sneak onto someone's property to be called "Peeping Tom".  Now, those perverts who possess the high-tech equipment are actually videotaping their neighbors from the safety of their own home. Unfortunately, the laws in California are only slowing catching up with the high-tech criminals. 

Just a few years ago, Penal Code 647 was amended to allow prosecutors to charge the video voyeur with a crime. The following is the actual text of the new section:

"Any person who looks through a hole or opening, into, or otherwise views, by means of any instrumentality, including, but not limited to, a periscope, telescope, binoculars, camera, motion picture camera, or camcorder, the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, changing room, fitting room, dressing room, or tanning booth, or the interior of any other area in which the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy, with the intent to invade the privacy of a person or persons inside."

The problem with the law as written is that it is currently only a misdemeanor punishable by only up to one year in jail and a very small monetary fine.  Additionally, the perpetrator does not have to register as a sex offender.

As an example of how extreme the conduct "Peeping Tom" can now be, the following is an excerpt of a lawsuit currently being prosecuted by Eric Traut:

"Unbeknownst to the plaintiffs until late 2004, PERPETRATOR had been secretly videotaping them from numerous strategically placed high-powered video cameras mounted throughout his property, including his attic, the eaves of his home, hoisted in a tree, and even in his own child's playhouse. The wiring to all the cameras had been installed underground and run directly to equipment in the garage. The digital video cameras were directed at, and taping PLAINTIFFS, in their bedrooms, bathrooms, and backyards for at least six years. He assembled an elaborate bizarre lair in his attic with video editing equipment and had 24 hour video surveillance monitors in his garage. In his lair, PERPETRATOR would fulfill his salacious appetite by splicing scenes of the plaintiffs into XXX video tapes. He would then label the videos with pet names he dreamed up for each plaintiff. It is believed that some images of the plaintiffs were distributed to other deviants over the internet. The investigating Huntington Beach police officers were later heard describing the attic as "creepy" and one of the most "bizarre" scenes they had ever come upon."

The perpetrator in this example already pled guilty to three counts of 647(k)(1), yet will only serve four months in jail.  He remains free to live in the same home adjacent to the women he has violated through his conduct.

If you believe that you have been taped in the private areas of your own home, contact local law enforcement to investigate it.

The Traut Firm has initiated efforts to convince legislators in the state to increase the criminal penalties for such conduct, including having the guilty party register as a sex offender.  Stay tuned.....
 

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