Ex Catholic School Teacher The Blue Bayou Voyeur and the Louisiana Video Voyeurism Law

The Baton Rouge Advocate has the story on a former Louisiana Catholic school teacher at Photo taker says he’s guilty Man: Blue Bayou pictures aroused him

This law among some lawyers and othesr has always caused some controversy. Now this post is not to debate the utter creepiness of this guy. But I have always though this law seems way too over broad in some of it's provisions and one could think of many situations where someone could be prosecuted and convicted under the letter of the law that might be absurd.

First here is the text

§283. Video voyeurism; penalties

A. Video voyeurism is: (1) The use of any camera, videotape, photo-optical, photo-electric, or any other image recording device for the purpose of observing, viewing, photographing, filming, or videotaping a person where that person has not consented to the observing, viewing, photographing, filming, or videotaping and it is for a lewd or lascivious purpose; or

(2) The transfer of an image obtained by activity described in Paragraph

(1) of this Subsection by live or recorded telephone message, electronic mail, the Internet, or a commercial online service.

B.(1) Except as provided in Paragraphs (3) and (4) of this Subsection, whoever commits the crime of video voyeurism shall, upon a first conviction thereof, be fined not more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than two years, or both.

(2) On a second or subsequent conviction, the offender shall be fined not more than two thousand dollars and imprisoned at hard labor for not less than six months nor more than three years without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

(3) Whoever commits the crime of video voyeurism when the observing, viewing, photographing, filming, or videotaping is of any vaginal or anal sexual intercourse, actual or simulated sexual intercourse, masturbation, any portion of the female breast below the top of the areola or of any portion of the pubic hair, anus, cleft of the buttocks, vulva, or genitals shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars and be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than one year or more than five years, without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

(4) Whoever commits the crime of video voyeurism when the observing, viewing, photographing, filming, or videotaping is of any child under the age of seventeen with the intention of arousing or gratifying the sexual desires of the offender shall be fined not more than ten thousand dollars and be imprisoned at hard labor for not less than two years or more than ten years without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence.

C. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to the transference of such images by a telephone company, cable television company, or any of its affiliates, an Internet provider, or commercial online service provider, or to the carrying, broadcasting, or performing of related activities in providing telephone, cable television, Internet, or commercial online services.

D. After the institution of prosecution, access to and the disposition of any material seized as evidence of this offense shall be in accordance with R.S. 46:1845.

E. Any evidence resulting from the commission of video voyeurism shall be contraband. F. A violation of the provisions of this Section shall be considered a sex offense as defined in R.S. 15:541(14.1). Whoever commits the crime of video voyeurism shall be required to register as a sex offender as provided for in Chapter 3-B of Title 15 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

Acts 1999, No. 1240, §1; Acts 2003, No. 690, §1; Acts 2003, No. 1245, §1

Now these laws around the country were enacted in order to combat the situation that ESPN Reporter Erin Andrews found herself in yesterday In fact looking at the provisions of the law including most guys on my LSU football board could be prosecuted under the transfer provision.

Other problems with this law. Notice there is no account of age. So that means a 18 or 17 year old high school kids could be made a sex offender by taking pictures of Cheerleaders at the game and using them to get "sexually aroused". Heck I suppose a 14 year old could be convicted of this in Juvenile Court. Anyone can be prosecuted for taking pictures at the public beach and using such pictures for a "lewd or lascivious purpose".

Again I am not discussing the Morality of such actions but I must say I have huge problems with how lets say a overzealous cop or prosecutor could abuse what must be the original intent.

There are a ton of issues here. I think this law needs to be tightened up some. I mean under this law a person that had a sexual fetish over peoples feet and thus took photographs could be prosecuted. This seems a tad absurd.

Update-
It is a small window on what people think but I am sort of amazed that on this political board people I know of differing political backgrounds mostly think this law is pretty bad