A man who was arrested after a neighbor outside a window videotaped him having sex with a woman in his condominium says he was amazed someone didn't just come to the door and ask them to stop.
"It seems almost communistic, being arrested at your own house for having sex," said Alfred Stephens. "It amazes me that someone had the audacity to actually videotape this."If his neighbors had come to his door, he said, "We would have stopped and desisted immediately."
Stephens, 36, and Janet Paddock, 32, were arrested Tuesday night and charged with a lewd and lascivious act in the presence of a child under 12, the Hillsborough County sheriff's office reported. They were released from jail Wednesday on $15,000 bail each.
Neighbor Lee Adler made a video of the couple in the bathroom of Stephens' first-floor condo, which is less than 10 feet from a pool where adults and children were swimming, police and neighbors said.
Rick Jager, property manager of the Waterbridge Condominiums, said Thursday he has asked Stephens to move out. Stephens rented the condo three weeks ago.
Nicholas Matassini, Stephens' attorney, said Thursday his client has no plans to stay. He added that he would ask prosecutors to reduce or drop the charges.
Robyn Blumner, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, called the arrest absurd.
"What if this was not a matter of them seeing through the window but hearing through a wall?" she asked. "Could they be arrested if they made noises associated with sex? Is that lewd and lascivious?"
Adler said he taped the couple for about two minutes because his neighbors were talking about calling deputies.
"They knew we were out there. They were exhibitionists," Adler said. "I shot right through the blinds."
Paddock said she wouldn't knowingly have sex in front of people.
"My private life is private. What I do behind the shades is my own business," she said. "I'm 32 years old; it's not like I'm 16."