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The Peeping Pervs Go One Step Too Far

           This morning’s Boston Globe reports on the criminal prosecution and college disciplinary proceeding simultaneously pending against two Wentworth Institute of Technology male students who had the bad sense (and bad grace) to videotape two female Massachusetts College of Art and Design students having an intimate moment in bed in a dormitory within all-too-easy sight range. The video ended up on Wentworth’s file sharing system and was widely disseminated around the city, although it is believed that a friend of the videographers was responsible for that.

Massachusetts law does not criminalize the surreptitious video recording of unsuspecting people; currently, only secret audio recording is a crime. However, Massachusetts does have a more general “peeping Tom” statute that has formed the basis for the pending prosecution. And Wentworth, being a private college, can penalize such conduct under any number of rubrics. So, it’s pretty clear that these two morons will not get away with their indiscretion.

            This said, one has to admit that defendant David Siemiesz, one of the Wentworth juniors being prosecuted, had a bit of a point when he told the Globe’s Maria Cramer: “This all would have never happened if their windows were closed” and if the shades were drawn and the lights turned out. Sometimes a peeping Tom takes affirmative steps to evade another person’s privacy measures, but in this case the viewing was easy.

            One is reminded of an attempt by the administration of the University of Pennsylvania a few years ago to discipline a student who, from his dorm window, photographed a student couple who were making love in a dorm room across a courtyard. The lovebirds not only were taking no steps to protect their privacy, but were seemingly reveling in the exhibitionism of the moment, as the female of the couple was pushed up against the window while the male did his thing – all obviously meant for the eyes of the passers-by in the busy courtyard below.Campus disciplinary officials, facing an outcry in support of the student photographer, dropped the investigation.

            The Wentworth case seems to be in the middle: The two women were not seemingly trying to advertise their tryst, but they did not take adequate and simple steps to try to protect their privacy either. The two “Toms” did not have to take any extraordinary steps in order to peep. So it’s not quite as clear-cut a criminal “peeping Tom” case as one might suppose, or wish. Still, the betting here is that Wentworth will take severe action – if for no other reason than that the two male students embarrassed the institution. But the prosecutors likely will be a bit more moderate.

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5 Comments

  • jerry said:

    <i>But the prosecutors likely will be a bit more moderate.</i>

    I thank god I'm not terribly familiar with prosecutors, but being more moderate?  In this day and age of zero tolerance and public shaming?  I would think any attempt on the prosecutor's part to be more moderate will be promptly paraded around loud and clear as evidence of some sort of misogynistic, it's okay to video woman, rape culture.

    Would you explain why you think they would be more moderate?

    June 12, 2008 9:46 PM
  • lacey jenkins said:

    I had seen the video after one of my wentworth friends showed it to me several months ago. She told me that probably everyone on that entire side of the building saw the two girls and that in the video it is so fuzzy and poorly filmed that the two girls are basically unrecognizable. The video lasts for approx 15min and are fully clothed for over 12minutes, you never really make out anything and the worst part are the comments thrown around inside the room. Things are said similar to that you'd see in movies like American Pie or Super Troopers. At one point in the video one of the girls even stares directly accross into the boys room and the boys think the girls noticed but for some reason they continue.This tells me two things ; either the girls didnt care so they were putting on a show or that the girls were high or drunk and completely unaware of their surroundings. I think when they this sort of thing happens alot they werent talking about sex. My friends tell me that they see MasssArt students usuing illegal drugs all the time. Why couldnt the boys file a compliant against the girls?

    June 13, 2008 3:05 AM
  • Sheila said:

    >The two “Toms” did not have to take any extraordinary steps in order to peep

    Someone told me that he had heard that they chose to zoom in  with the camera  on the women.  Is "zooming in" considered not an extraordinary step?  

    >My friends tell me that they see MasssArt students usuing illegal drugs all the time. Why couldnt the boys file a compliant against the girls?

    I have smelled pot on two Wentworth students.  Many people use illegal drugs.  I hope that everyone who feels like blowing the whistle on illegal drugs does so if they want but the point is: illegal drugs are not the issue here.  The issues here are that Wentworth appears to not necessarily have a policy about privacy that deals with zooming in and filming people in their rooms without their knowledge (there is no substantial evidence to know if either woman knew).  Wentworth may not have a program or a strong enough program that teaches its students not to treat others like this nor does it necessarily have a tolerant opinion of homosexuality. I say this because the Boston Globe article says that this video was circulated for a while before any authorities found out _and_ because of the comments that were made during the filming.   So whistleblow all you want against drugs but let men and women continue to circulate a video behind two womens' backs.

    June 13, 2008 6:20 PM
  • Ashley said:

    lacey, you are a disgrace to womankind. not to mention a complete idiot. saying that the boys could file a complaint against the girls for completely unsubstantiated drug use? yea thats definitely a priority. lets all blame the victims and nail them to the cross. great idea. those bitches were asking for it. right? while were at it, lets fashion some sort of award for these courageous young men.

    June 13, 2008 10:54 PM
  • Dan said:

    Since I go to Wentworth, I just wanna say a few things. No I don't know the guys but I have lived in that particular dorm.

    It is not uncommon for the girls to leave the curtains up while they do the deed. Also, Ive been in that building. Ive seen girls walking in the hallway in their bra and shorts once. And lastly, it is not uncommon to see them making out in front of the building. They like putting on a show. I am in NO WAY defending those 2 guys however, the blame rests equally on both parties. The guys decided to pull out a camera and post it on DC, and the girls decided, like most of the time, to leave the shades up. I'd be willing to bet they were cocked out of their mind.

    The video sucked anyways. Aside from being fuzzy, there was a dresser partially in the way.

    June 15, 2008 10:55 PM

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