California Penal Code 647(j) PC prohibits various invasions of privacy, such as secretly observing someone or using a device to view them in an area where they reasonably expect privacy.
A first offense can result in up to six months in jail and a fine of up to $1,000, with harsher penalties for repeat violations. Defenses may include a lack of intent, an absence of a reasonable expectation of privacy, or the victim's consent.
Criminal invasion of privacy happens when someone secretly intrudes, takes photos, or records videos of a person in a place where they reasonably expect privacy.
This may involve capturing images of someone's body under or through clothing for sexual arousal or gratification. Typically, it involves using binoculars, a telescope, or a camera to observe or record someone in a private setting, such as a dressing room.
Usually, the main aim of the offender is to see someone's undergarments or private body parts. This can happen through "upskirting," where a person places their phone under a woman's skirt to record a video or take a picture quickly.
A "peeping tom" refers to someone who secretly gazes into private spaces like bathrooms or changing rooms, using their eyes, binoculars, or similar tools, often seeking to invade privacy for sexual pleasure or arousal.
Key Takeaways
- Setting up a secret camera in a bathroom or dressing room is a crime, even if it never captures or records anyone. You could be charged with criminal invasion of privacy. This may refer to spaces such as a bedroom, bathroom, fitting room, dressing area, tanning booth, or any place where the occupant reasonably expects privacy.
- Using a concealed recorder to secretly film someone under or through their clothes (upskirting), for the purpose of arousing sexual desires, is also illegal when the victim reasonably expects privacy (PC 647(j)(2)).
- It is also a crime to secretly record or photograph someone in a state of undress for the purpose of viewing their body or undergarments without their knowledge, especially in private areas like bedrooms, bathrooms, changing rooms, dressing rooms, or any place where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy (PC 647(j)(3)(A)).
What is the Meaning of PC 647(j)?
Penal Code 647(j)(1) says, "A person who looks through a hole or opening, into, or otherwise views, using any instrumentality, including, but not limited to, a periscope, telescope, binoculars, camera, motion picture camera, camcorder, mobile phone, electronic device, or unmanned aircraft system, 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.
This subdivision does not apply to those areas of a private business used to count currency or other negotiable instruments."
Penal Code 647(j)(2) says, "A person who uses a concealed camcorder, motion picture camera, or photographic camera of any type, to secretly videotape, film, photograph, or record by electronic means, another identifiable person under or through the clothing being worn by that other person, for the purpose of viewing the body of, or the undergarments worn by, that other person, without the consent or knowledge of that other person, with the intent to arouse, appeal to, or gratify the lust, passions, or sexual desires of that person and invade the privacy of that other person, under circumstances in which the other person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.
For the purposes of this paragraph, "identifiable" means capable of identification or being recognized, meaning that someone, including the victim, could identify or recognize the victim. It does not require the victim's identity actually to be established."
Under PC 647(j)(3), it is illegal to covertly record someone in a private space while they are partially or fully undressed, specifically with a concealed camera. Such private areas include bedrooms, bathrooms, changing rooms, fitting rooms, dressing rooms, or tanning booths.
What Evidence Is Necessary to Secure a Conviction?
To convict someone of Penal Code 647(j) invasion of privacy, the prosecution must prove the following elements beyond a reasonable doubt:
- You intentionally peered through an opening or a hole.
- You secretly filmed or recorded someone.
- You recorded someone beneath or through their clothing.
- You recorded video footage in a private room
- While doing so, you looked into a room and observed someone.
- You looked into the interior of a bedroom, bathroom, dressing room, or another area where privacy is reasonably expected.
- You used binoculars, a phone, a camera, a telescope, or a similar device.
- The victim reasonably expected privacy.
- You intended to invade someone's privacy by looking or to fulfill sexual desires.
Importantly, you can only be convicted if you observe or record someone in a location where they have a legitimate expectation of privacy.
What Are Some Examples?
- Secretly photographing or recording video up a woman's skirt (upskirting).
- Looking over a bathroom stall while someone is inside.
- Recording someone in a fitting room using a mobile phone.
- Installing a hidden camera in a dressing room to record individuals.
- Using binoculars to look at someone through a home window.
- Observing a woman in her bedroom as she undresses through a telescope, focusing on her private body parts.
What Are the Penalties Under PC 647(j)?
If you are convicted of criminal invasion of privacy under Penal Code 647(j), the misdemeanor penalties include the following:
- Up to six months in county jail and
- A fine of up to $1,000.
The penalties for criminal invasion of privacy will be heightened to a maximum of one year in jail and a fine of up to $2,000 for repeated offenses or cases involving underage victims. Additionally, a victim may pursue a separate civil lawsuit to seek damages.
What Are Related Crimes?
- Penal Code 647(1) PC, the peeking while loitering law prohibits peeking into doors or windows of inhabited structures while loitering on private property. This law classifies such behavior as a misdemeanor.
- Penal Code 602 PC, trespassing law criminalizes entering or staying on another person's property without permission or lawful right.
- 18 U.S.C. 1801, video voyeurism federal law criminalizes capturing images of someone's intimate body parts without their consent, especially when the victim is in a place where they reasonably expect privacy.
What are the Typical Defenses?
The approach to contest the invasion-of-privacy charge depends on the specifics of the case. To defend against a PC 647(j) allegation, your California criminal defense lawyer may claim there was no intent to breach privacy or to obtain sexual gratification from the observation.
The lawyer could argue you had the person's permission to record or view them, or that the incident happened in a place where there was no reasonable expectation of privacy.
Notably, every crime under this statute requires proof that you intended to invade someone's privacy.
We might argue that there isn't enough evidence to identify the person who installed the hidden recorder or camera in a private area, such as a bathroom or dressing room.
Other possible defenses include mistake of fact or statute of limitations. For more information, contact the Hedding Law firm in Los Angeles, CA.
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