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What: Video voyeur who used 2.4GHz wireless camera to watch his 18-year-old stepdaughter appeals his sentence of 56 years in prison.
When: A Louisiana state appeals court (second circuit) rules on December 13.
Outcome: Court says 56 years in prison is "constitutionally excessive."
What happened, according to court documents:
In early 2005, James Boudreaux was sharing a mobile home (bad start already) with his son and his 18-year-old stepdaughter (where's the mom?), with whom he'd been living almost without interruption since she was 11 years old.
What the stepdaughter did not know is that Boudreaux had installed a RadioShack 2.4GHz wireless camera in the entertainment center in her bedroom. The diminutive color cameras sell for $20 on RadioShack's Web site, can run on batteries or an AC adapter, and are part of a $100 surveillance system that includes video-out capability on the base station.
Boudreaux took advantage of that function by recording his stepdaughter for about four months, sometimes while she was dressing and undressing, and at times while she was completely nude. And, in the words of the court: "Other tapes allegedly showed some of the victim's young female friends partially or completely naked, and one tape purportedly depicted defendant masturbating while holding a pair of the victim's underpants up to his face."
His stepdaughter, who is not named in the court opinion, found out what was going on when she knocked on Boudreaux's door to give him some cigarettes she purchased on his behalf (busted cuz you were too lazy to buy your own cigarettes). Her stepfather was standing naked in front of the television. He quickly stopped the tape he was watching and jumped into bed--but not before she spotted what was on the screen.
That led her to enter his bedroom later, when he was gone, and discover videotapes depicting her and several friends in various stages of undress. She disconnected the camera installed in her bedroom. She then confronted Boudreaux, who replied that it was his trailer and he could film whatever he wanted.
Boudreaux kicked her out of the home a few months later, at which time the stepdaughter asked the sheriff's office for help in retrieving her personal items. She mentioned the video camera and tapes, which led to a search warrant and Boudreaux being arrested.
Tammy Philley, a female sergeant in Louisiana's Ouachita Parish, viewed the tapes and found that seven different partially nude or fully nude young women had been recorded. Philley noted that there was no evidence that Boudreaux had threatened any of the women he recorded or had tried to convince them not to press charges.
Boudreaux said he was very sorry and blamed the situation on an addiction to both alcohol and painkillers. His adult criminal record included urinating in public (1980), driving while intoxicated (1983), bringing marijuana into a jail when serving his DWI time (1984), illegal use of weapons (1989), simple battery (1990), attempted possession of cocaine (1992) and another DWI (1999).
The problem for Boudreaux is that Louisiana had made "video voyeurism" a serious crime as a result of a case involving Susan Wilson, who found that she had scant legal recourse when a neighbor implanted a camera in her home. Wilson's case became mildly famous and resulted in a 2002 made-for-TV movie.
The Louisiana law outlaws any lewd, nonconsensual "observing, viewing, photographing, filming or videotaping" of "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." Penalties are prison sentences of up to five years without parole or probation. (Read literally, photographs of certain body parts belonging to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears might be deemed unlawful.)
Boudreaux pleaded guilty to 14 counts of video voyeurism and was sentenced to four years of hard labor for each count--a total of 56 years in prison (In Louisiana that means Angola...translation - he's fucked). He would also have to register as a sex offender, according to state law.
That is an unusually long sentence. Federal statistics show that the average total incarceration time imposed by state courts for murder is 18 years; rape is 8 years; and robbery is about 6.5 years.
Boudreaux appealed his sentence as excessive, and the appeals court agreed. In mid-December, the appeals court sent it back down to the trial judge for resentencing.
What: Video voyeur who used 2.4GHz wireless camera to watch his 18-year-old stepdaughter appeals his sentence of 56 years in prison.
When: A Louisiana state appeals court (second circuit) rules on December 13.
Outcome: Court says 56 years in prison is "constitutionally excessive."
What happened, according to court documents:
In early 2005, James Boudreaux was sharing a mobile home (bad start already) with his son and his 18-year-old stepdaughter (where's the mom?), with whom he'd been living almost without interruption since she was 11 years old.
What the stepdaughter did not know is that Boudreaux had installed a RadioShack 2.4GHz wireless camera in the entertainment center in her bedroom. The diminutive color cameras sell for $20 on RadioShack's Web site, can run on batteries or an AC adapter, and are part of a $100 surveillance system that includes video-out capability on the base station.
Boudreaux took advantage of that function by recording his stepdaughter for about four months, sometimes while she was dressing and undressing, and at times while she was completely nude. And, in the words of the court: "Other tapes allegedly showed some of the victim's young female friends partially or completely naked, and one tape purportedly depicted defendant masturbating while holding a pair of the victim's underpants up to his face."
His stepdaughter, who is not named in the court opinion, found out what was going on when she knocked on Boudreaux's door to give him some cigarettes she purchased on his behalf (busted cuz you were too lazy to buy your own cigarettes). Her stepfather was standing naked in front of the television. He quickly stopped the tape he was watching and jumped into bed--but not before she spotted what was on the screen.
That led her to enter his bedroom later, when he was gone, and discover videotapes depicting her and several friends in various stages of undress. She disconnected the camera installed in her bedroom. She then confronted Boudreaux, who replied that it was his trailer and he could film whatever he wanted.
Boudreaux kicked her out of the home a few months later, at which time the stepdaughter asked the sheriff's office for help in retrieving her personal items. She mentioned the video camera and tapes, which led to a search warrant and Boudreaux being arrested.
Tammy Philley, a female sergeant in Louisiana's Ouachita Parish, viewed the tapes and found that seven different partially nude or fully nude young women had been recorded. Philley noted that there was no evidence that Boudreaux had threatened any of the women he recorded or had tried to convince them not to press charges.
Boudreaux said he was very sorry and blamed the situation on an addiction to both alcohol and painkillers. His adult criminal record included urinating in public (1980), driving while intoxicated (1983), bringing marijuana into a jail when serving his DWI time (1984), illegal use of weapons (1989), simple battery (1990), attempted possession of cocaine (1992) and another DWI (1999).
The problem for Boudreaux is that Louisiana had made "video voyeurism" a serious crime as a result of a case involving Susan Wilson, who found that she had scant legal recourse when a neighbor implanted a camera in her home. Wilson's case became mildly famous and resulted in a 2002 made-for-TV movie.
The Louisiana law outlaws any lewd, nonconsensual "observing, viewing, photographing, filming or videotaping" of "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." Penalties are prison sentences of up to five years without parole or probation. (Read literally, photographs of certain body parts belonging to Paris Hilton and Britney Spears might be deemed unlawful.)
Boudreaux pleaded guilty to 14 counts of video voyeurism and was sentenced to four years of hard labor for each count--a total of 56 years in prison (In Louisiana that means Angola...translation - he's fucked). He would also have to register as a sex offender, according to state law.
That is an unusually long sentence. Federal statistics show that the average total incarceration time imposed by state courts for murder is 18 years; rape is 8 years; and robbery is about 6.5 years.
Boudreaux appealed his sentence as excessive, and the appeals court agreed. In mid-December, the appeals court sent it back down to the trial judge for resentencing.
