State v. Burke

Video Voyeurism Not Peeping Violation. State v. Burke ___ NJ Super. ___ A-4345-01T5(App. Div. July 8, 2003). A prosecution pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2C:18-3c, the so-called "peeping Tom" statute, requires the prohibited "peering into" be from a location outside, and into, the "window or other opening of a dwelling or other structure adapted for overnight accommodations[.]" The conduct engaged in by defendant here can be best described as "video voyeuristic surveillance," consisting of defendant installing within the dwelling a concealed, motion-activated video camera that of his house guests while they were in the bathroom. Such conduct is not criminalized by the language or intent of the "peeping Tom" statute. We cited to authority noting the recent trend of to criminalize video voyeurism that surreptitiously occurs inside a dwelling, and stated it was a matter of Legislature to address, not the courts.