NEW YORK (AP) — Gov. George Pataki on Monday signed a law making video voyeurism — secretly photographing another person in a private place like a bathroom or bedroom — a felony punishable by up to seven years in prison.
"Stephanie's Law" is named for Stephanie Fuller, 29, whose landlord pleaded guilty to a charge of trespassing after he spied on her for months by hiding a tiny video camera in a smoke detector above her bed. The landlord was given three years probation.
Until now, there was no specific law against such electronic, digital or mechanical image-taking. A law does prohibit secretly using listening devices on other people.