After secret sex recordings, Tennessee bill to change illegal photography law advances
A bill strengthening victims' rights after an illegal photography violation passed its first committee hurdle on Tuesday after a group of Nashville women banded together to make changes to Tennessee law.
The women last year discovered they had been secretly recorded during sex without their consent after a Nashville man was arrested and charged with eight counts of unlawful photography.
But several other victims could not pursue charges in the case.
The current statute of limitations allows just one year to pursue charges from the date of the crime, which the victims say is unacceptable in cases where any evidence of the crime was hidden until after the statute expired.
"There were dozens of women, tens of thousands of files and images, but there was not a clean pathway to prosecution except for those within that one-year statute," Sen. Jeff Yarbro, D-Nashville, said.
Yarbro is sponsoring SB 335, which would amend the statute of limitations to the date of discovery, rather than the date of the original crime, allowing victims more time to pursue justice in their cases. Yarbro's bill would also make victims of unlawful photography eligible for an order of protection.
"We want to ensure moving forward women who are in similar circumstances, with perhaps fewer resources than we currently have, are able to get the justice that we feel was denied for so many of our new friends," Laura Cantwell, one of the victims, previously told The Tennessean.
The bill received unanimous approval in the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, clearing its way for a full floor vote. The House bill is up for a committe hearing on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a separate bill would increase unlawful photography crimes in sexual situations from misdemeanors to Class D felonies.
In November, Matthew Vollmer was arrested and charged with eight counts of unlawful photography after his girlfriend discovered explicit videos, allegedly filmed with a hidden camera, on his computer depicting multiple women.
Vollmer pleaded not guilty to filming four victims and is currently awaiting a March trial date.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: After secret sex recordings, Tennessee bill to change law advances
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