A New York man’s conviction for voyeurism was upheld by an appeals court.
In a unanimous ruling issued Thursday, the state court found that the evidence against David Schreier showed that Schreier “surreptitiously” recorded the victim for his own amusement or entertainment at a time and place where she had reasonable expectation of privacy.
Just before 7:30 a.m. on Christmas Eve 2008, Schreier stood outside the front door his neighbor’s townhouse and used his compact video camera to film complainant while she was naked in her second floor bathroom. Complainant had just emerged from the shower and had opened the bathroom door to allow the steam to dissipate and to be able to hear her sleeping child if he awoke, according to appeals court documents.
Defendant recorded her for several minutes, court records indicate. He used the camera’s zoom feature and adjusted the focus in order to obtain closer views. When complainant happened to look at the front door, she noticed a red light and saw a black-gloved hand holding a camera. She then quickly shut the upstairs bathroom door and called the police, according to court documents.
Defendant was convicted, after a nonjury trial, of unlawful surveillance in the second degree. A County Court denied Schreier’s motion for a new trial.