Sex video likely legal
(
http://www.dailysouthtown.com/news/351912,221NWS2.article)
April 22, 2007
By Lauren FitzPatrick Staff writer
In the black-and-white videotape, a man leans
back in his office chair, his wool sportcoat
gaping open while a woman pleasures him.
Both married participants -- a principal and
teacher having sex on elementary school grounds
-- have resigned in shame, citing personal reasons.
Police continue to investigate the source of the
2½-hour sex video, allegedly made during the
schoolday while children were in classrooms and walking the hallways.
And parents are outraged, calling for arrests.
Such is the frenzy surrounding Sandridge
Elementary School's scandal that it might have
led to the ouster of three school board members in Tuesday's election.
Some, however, have questioned the legality of
the recording, but the answer might come as a surprise.
Illinois' surveillance laws only bar secret
audiotaping and videotaping in a select number of
private places, such as restrooms, hotel bedrooms
and private homes. Offices at Sandridge
Elementary School near Lynwood or any other school don't make the cut.
So long as a mystery filmmaker didn't break into
Principal Leroy Coleman's office, capture any
voices or threaten to blackmail anyone with the
sexy recordings, recording those 2½ hours of
sexual yet silent video in December and January
was completely legal by state eavesdropping and videotaping statutes.
Illinois' eavesdropping law almost always
requires a person's consent to record voices.
That goes for reporters taping interviews and
businesses who record phone calls for quality purposes.
A separate videotaping statute makes it illegal
to secretly film in the kinds of places that seem
obviously private, even if in public buildings and businesses.
Think hotel rooms, tanning salons, saunas,
changing rooms, locker rooms and bathrooms. No
one can record in a private home without the
owner's consent, so a nanny can't turn a spy camera back on her employers.
Sandridge's naughty filmmaker still could face a
heap of trouble, just not from pressing "record"
on a camera yet to be recovered.
Intimidation charges could result if the
principal or teacher were threatened with the
tape. The filmmaker could be charged with
burglary if he or she turned out not to be a
school employee and broke into the building.
And he or she also could -- and likely will --
face a civil lawsuit from Coleman or science
teacher Janet Lofton for invading their privacy, their attorneys said.
As of Friday afternoon, no one had been charged
in connection with the video recording, which
were distributed to parents and news media
anonymously, Cook County sheriff's police spokeswoman Penny Mateck said.
But sheriff's police continue to investigate the
source of the recordings, according to first deputy chief John Palcu.
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Received on Sat Mar 02 2024 - 00:57:28 CST