Sex crimes have always been both serious and common. However, thanks to its ubiquitousness and ease of use, the internet has worsened the problem, especially regarding the invasion of privacy. Despite multiple efforts that a person might make to protect themselves, bad actors can still engage in nonconsensual sex acts online.
Have you been accused of committing a sex crime by invading someone's privacy? You need legal assistance that can minimize the repercussions for your present and future. Find out how the LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team can help by calling 888-535-3686 or filling out their confidential consultation form.
How Does Pennsylvania Define Invasion of Privacy?
The term “invasion of privacy” might initially sound too broad to apply specifically to sex crimes, but in reality, most offenders use this crime for sexual purposes. In fact, the Pennsylvania General Assembly defines invasion of privacy as gratifying oneself sexually by using photographs, videos, recordings, or other media of another person without their knowledge or consent. You can face prosecution if you engage with this media in any of the following ways:
- Capturing: Offenders typically create nonconsensual sexual media in places like locker rooms, bathrooms, dressing rooms, hotel rooms, or within victims' homes—all of which are places where people are often partially or fully undressed and have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Whether you make the media for yourself or share it with other people, you can be charged as a sex offender.
- Viewing: Even if you're not the person who originally captured the illegal media, you can still be charged for invading someone's privacy by viewing it. Doing so shows that you help generate the sort of demand that drives people to create nonconsensual sexual media. It also means that you actively allowed and encouraged the crime to continue instead of reporting it to law enforcement. In these ways, you are complicit.
- Transferring: In legal terms, the transfer of media usually refers to its sale or distribution. You don't have to create or view the media to be charged with invading privacy; transferring it to others makes you just as guilty because you're enabling and participating in the crime.
- Transmitting: Not to be confused with transferring media—means that you're moving it from one place to another—transmission refers to conveying it or making it available while retaining the source. Broadcasting and streaming are popular examples. Again, since transmission is perpetuating the original crime, it counts as invasion of privacy under the law.
Nude and partially nude content are both illegal to capture, view, and distribute. However, the crime is especially egregious if the media reveals intimate body parts, such as breasts, buttocks, genitals, or the pubic area.
Law officers are the only people excepted from this definition if the media they create, send, or use is necessary for a legal investigation of criminal activity or misconduct inside correctional facilities.
Penalties for Invasion of Privacy in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvanian courts usually grade first-time violations as misdemeanors of the third degree, potentially leading to one year in prison and/or $2,500 in fines. However, multiple and subsequent violations are usually elevated to misdemeanors of the second degree, for which the court might demand $5,000 in fines and two years in prison per count.
According to Pennsylvania law, victims have two years to file charges against you, provided they're aware of the offense at the time. Otherwise, they're given three years from the date of their realization to decide whether to file.
The Impact of an Invasion of Privacy Charge
Fines can cause financial setbacks, and prison sentences remove you from the workforce for a certain amount of time, creating a glaring gap in your resume. Landlords can run criminal background checks that might pull up your conviction, which could paint you as a legal liability and cost you decent housing. Homelessness is a real possibility.
It's also harder to get a decent job with a conviction on your record, especially if you're applying for a position that involves access to confidential information, secluded environments, restricted areas, or unchecked internet access. The years that you may have spent developing a rewarding career could suddenly become useless as employers shy away from hiring or promoting you, concerned that you would put them at risk legally.
Furthermore, since invasion of privacy is considered a Tier I offense under Megan's Law, anyone convicted of invading privacy must publicly register as sex offenders for 15 years. They must renew this registration annually. Also, local law enforcement is notified when an individual on the registry moves into or out of the area.
Consider the social implications, too. Your family, friends, and/or significant other might cut ties with you during or after your trial or jail time. Since anyone can look up your sex offender status via Megan's Law, you could have trouble creating and maintaining new relationships as well. You would have to work harder to earn the trust and respect of most other people, so meeting your social needs would be an ongoing challenge.
To summarize, invading someone's privacy can lead to a constant invasion of your own. You would likely be denied many opportunities to move on and grow.
Luckily, studies show that sexual offenders who commit their crimes online are less likely to re-offend than those who make physical contact with their victims. If you mainly use the internet to observe or spy on another person without their knowledge or consent, then there's a greater chance that the court will dismiss the charges or minimize the penalties. You simply need the right legal representation to make it happen.
Why Hire the LLF Law Firm?
Invasion of privacy and other sex crimes can be intense and complex to navigate. Not every law firm will take on the challenge, but the LLF Law Firm Criminal Defense Team will, and you'll be better off for it. Here are all the reasons why.
Willingness to Dive into the Facts
Some people feel like their privacy was violated, even if that isn't the case. Rather than taking anyone's claims at face value, the LLF Law Firm digs deep to understand and convey the truth. They could fight to dismiss or reduce the charges against you for any of the following reasons:
- The alleged victim did consent to the media that you created.
- The alleged victim was not fully or partially nude.
- The alleged victim was in a public area where they could not have reasonably expected privacy.
- You did not create the media to satisfy your sexual desire or that of anyone else.
- You never created the media in the first place.
- You never viewed, transferred, or transmitted the media.
- You only committed one violation.
- You are a member of law enforcement who was conducting a legal investigation and can demonstrate a legitimate need for the media.
Stellar Track Record
Consider the firm's long history of successfully tackling sensitive and complicated cases. They have proven strategies for defending every crime and the ability to tailor them to your unique situation. By drawing upon their unparalleled legal knowledge, examining your case from every possible angle, and presenting you to the court as a whole human and not simply a criminal, they guarantee that your future will remain intact, as it should.
Going the Extra Mile
For the LLF Law Firm, dismissing or reducing the charges against you isn't enough. After all, dismissed charges can continue appearing in background checks for up to seven years after the filing date, and reduced ones can still limit your opportunities.
Under Pennsylvania's Clean Slate law, you can have your invasion of privacy case sealed or expunged. As long as you're eligible, the LLF Law Firm will take your fight further by helping you apply for a clean slate. Their level of commitment is such that they won't be satisfied until they've taken every possible avenue to ensure your entire life isn't adversely affected by these charges.
Stand Up for Yourself with the LLF Law Firm
If you're charged with invasion of privacy, you must immediately take steps to protect yourself so that this one mistake doesn't overshadow life. The LLF Law Firm is ready to advocate for you so that you can move on with dignity. To find out more about their services, call the LLF Law Firm today at 888-535-3686 or fill out a confidential consultation form.
