Princeton 'Creepshots' Get Student Arrested
A student at Princeton University was arrested for the 'creepshots' he took on his phone after a fellow student fell asleep.
'Creepshots' are photos taken of an unsuspecting subject that are in some way sexual. In this case the photos were allegedly sexually explicit and taken after the victim passed out from drinking.
The alleged perpetrator, Richard Charles Tuckwell, used his cell phone to take the pictures. It's not clear whether the photos were given to anyone else but that doesn't make it any less of a crime.
The two students met during a weekend of concerts at the Ivy League school and went back to a dorm where the victim fell asleep in a purportedly compromising position.
He awoke to see Tuckwell taking photographs of him with a cell phone.
Tuckwell surrendered to police Friday and was charged with invasion of privacy for his alleged role in taking the photos, according to New York Daily News.
The crime of invasion of privacy is a part of New Jersey law that prohibits taking or distributing photographs or video of a victim whose 'intimate parts' are exposed or who is engaging in sexual conduct. Unlike the civil complaint of invasion of privacy, it only applies to sexually explicit video or pictures.
While not all states make it a crime, you can bring a lawsuit if someone takes a private photo or video of you without your consent. If it's happened to you, contact an attorney to protect yourself.
The New Jersey law was passed in 2003 but it wasn't brought into the courts until an incident at Rutgers University in 2010.
The case of Tyler Clementi, whose roommate secretly filmed his sexual encounter with another young man, was the first test of this New Jersey privacy law. Clementi's suicide led to his former roommate, Dharun Ravi, being prosecution for covertly filming Clementi.
Ravi was found in guilty in 2012 and is currently appealing the ruling.
Tuckwell has since been released on bail and is awaiting further proceedings, reports New York Daily News.
Related Resources:
- College Cyberbullying Law Introduced in Congress (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
- Dharun Ravi Convicted in Tyler Clementi Webcam Case (FindLaw's Blotter)
- NJ Cyberbully Jailed For Forwarding Lewd Photos (FindLaw's Law and Daily Life)
