Day 130: Middlebury Voyeurism? Word..

Feeling like I need some good coffee!
It's 2:49 PM and it's Saturday!

Voyeurism in Middlebury College. Very interesting.

Middlebury student facing charge of video voyeurism
Guest Author: Gordon Dritschilo, Staff Writer of Rutland Herald
Published: May 21, 2009

MIDDLEBURY — A Middlebury College student is facing criminal charges for allegedly taping himself having sex with a woman without her knowledge.

Rupert C. Ralston, 23, pleaded innocent Monday in Middlebury District Court to a misdemeanor charge of video voyeurism, according to the Addison County State's Attorney's Office. Ralston was freed on the condition he stay away from the woman.

If convicted, he could face a maximum of two years in jail and a $1,000 fine.

Police said the woman learned of the video from mutual friends, and that several of Ralston's friends denied the existence of the video before others confirmed it. She said she never consented to being in such a video.

Two of Ralston's friends gave statements to police describing him showing them the video on a laptop, according to affidavits. One said the woman did not appear aware she was being taped.

Police said they seized a laptop from Ralston, but had not found the video. Ralston's friends told police they notified Ralston they had been contacted by private investigators. Ralston did not give the police a statement, according to police.

Ralston is the first person in Addison County to be charged under Vermont's voyeurism law, passed in 2005 following a case involving a man photographing a 14-year-old girl in Montpelier.

The law forbids photographing or filming people without their consent somewhere they would have a reasonable expectation of privacy. Deputy State's Attorney Christopher Perkett said the consent issue would likely be the trickiest part of the prosecution, though he said there was no apparent evidence the woman consented.

"The question quickly becomes, is consent based on just the act of entering into an intimate relationship without knowing all the facts," Perkett said.

In 2007, a Manchester man was sentenced to 20 days on the work crew after pleading no contest to charges he secretly videotaped women bathing at his home.

Middlebury College spokeswoman Sarah Ray said it would be inappropriate to comment on a pending case. She said the allegations, if true, could constitute a violation of college policy, but there had not been any complaint filed with the college's judicial system.

She also said Ralston, a senior, would not participate in Middlebury's graduation ceremony Sunday.

"This is a decision he made on his own and informed our registrar's office of," she said.