Voyeurism charges in Arizona

In Arizona, voyeurism is a type of sex offense that can result in serious penalties and collateral consequences. People who are convicted of voyeurism may face sentences to incarceration, fines, and the potential for ongoing sex offender registration for years. Being convicted of voyeurism can cause problems with finding jobs and housing and cause other issues with relationships.

What is voyeurism?

Under A.R.S. § 13-1424, voyeurism is a crime that occurs in a couple of different ways. A person can be convicted of voyeurism if he or she knowingly invades someone else’s privacy without the victim’s knowledge for sexual gratification. Voyeurism can also be charged when someone distributes photographs, video recordings, or audio recordings of a victim when the recordings or pictures were taken without the victim’s consent. Under the statute, an invasion of someone else’s privacy occurs when pictures, photographs, or other recordings are taken without the person’s consent or when the person is viewed while in a state of undress, while he or she is engaged in sexual activity, or when he or she is using the bathroom.

What voyeurism does not include

There are several exceptions to what is considered to be illegal voyeurism. Recordings that are made as a part of a security system are not illegal voyeurism. Images captured by child monitoring devices are not voyeurism, and recordings completed as a part of normal law enforcement activities are also not voyeurism.

If someone is convicted of voyeurism, he or she will have a class five felony on his or her record and face the associated criminal penalties. However, if the person distributes the recordings when the victim is identifiable, the defendant may be charged with a class four felony. People who are facing sex offense charges may want to retain experienced criminal defense lawyers as early as possible.