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Sponsors propose tougher penalties for voyeurism, upskirting and offenses involving minors
Summary
House Bill 345 would elevate certain voyeurism offenses to felony levels, increasing penalties for secretly viewing or recording adults and minors and imposing steeper punishment for repeat offenders, according to sponsor testimony.
Representative Ray told the House Judiciary Committee that House Bill 345 updates criminal statutes to increase penalties for voyeurism and related offenses.
Under the testimony, HB 345 would raise the penalty for secretly viewing or recording another person's private areas in a place with a reasonable expectation of privacy from a misdemeanor to a fifth-degree felony for a first offense, with steeper penalties for repeat offenders. The bill also elevates penalties for "upskirting" and increases penalties for secretly recording a minor's private areas from a fifth-degree felony to a fourth-degree felony for a first offense, with repeat offenders facing still-higher classifications.
The sponsor said the changes respond to evolving technology that makes hidden recording easier and argued the statutes should reflect the seriousness of the harm. Committee members asked clarifying questions about how penalties for adults and minors compare and the sponsor confirmed the intent to treat offenses against minors more severely than those against adults.
