§ 21-1171 — Peeping Tom – Use of photographic, electronic or video

equipment – Offenses and punishment - Definition. A. Every person who hides, waits or otherwise loiters in the vicinity of any private dwelling house, apartment building, any other place of residence, or in the vicinity of any locker room, dressing room, restroom or any other place where a person has a right to a reasonable expectation of privacy, with the unlawful and willful intent to watch, gaze, or look upon any person in a clandestine manner, shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor. The violator shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not more than one (1) year, or by a fine not to exceed Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment. B. Every person who uses photographic, electronic or video equipment in a clandestine manner for any illegal, illegitimate, prurient, lewd or lascivious purpose with the unlawful and willful intent to view, watch, gaze or look upon any person without the knowledge and consent of such person when the person viewed is in a place where there is a right to a reasonable expectation of privacy, or who publishes or distributes any image obtained from such act, shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a Class D1 felony offense. The violator shall be punished by imprisonment as provided for in subsections B through F of Section 20N of this title, or by a fine not exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment. C. Every person who uses photographic, electronic or video equipment in a clandestine manner for any illegal, illegitimate, prurient, lewd or lascivious purpose with the unlawful and willful intent to view, watch, gaze or look upon any person and capture an image of a private area of a person without the knowledge and consent of such person and knowingly does so under circumstances in which a reasonable person would believe that the private area of the person would not be visible to the public, regardless of whether the person is in a public or private place shall, upon conviction, be guilty of a misdemeanor. The violator shall be punished by imprisonment in the county jail for a term of not more than one (1) year, or by a fine not exceeding Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00), or by both such fine and imprisonment. D. As used in this section, the phrase “private area of the person” means the naked or undergarment-clad genitals, pubic area, buttocks, or any portion of the areola of the female breast of that individual.

Legislative History

Added by Laws 1959, p. 112, § 1. Amended by Laws 2001, c. 386, § 2, eff. July 1, 2001; Laws 2008, c. 38, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2008; Laws 2025, c. 486, § 403, eff. Jan. 1, 2026.