Locker room video taping legislation authored by Kerkman & Wanggaard heading to gov.

Peeping Town offenses, including secret video taping in locker rooms, will carry tougher penalties if a bill authored by two local state legislators is signed by Gov. Scott Walker.

From a press release issued by state Rep. Smantha Kerkman and state Sen. Van Wanggaard:

Early this evening (Tuesday) the State Senate concurred in Assembly action on the Locker Room Privacy bill authored by Representative Samantha Kerkman (R-Salem) and Senator Van Wanggaard (R-Racine).  The Senate passed the measure on a voice vote.  The legislation was drafted in response to the hidden-camera case in Kenosha County in which women and children were secretly video-taped in the locker room of (a) Pleasant Prairie (recreational facility).  Because many of the victims were children, the legislation focuses on increasing penalties for all peeping tom and depicting nudity offenses when the victim is under 18 years old.  For locker room-specific offenses, the bill increases all penalties, and increases them an additional level of severity when victims are under 18 years old. “The locker room case really highlighted our vulnerabilities and the vulnerabilities of our children in the digital age,” said Rep. Kerkman.  “It was literally obscene to find that someone who secretly photographed or videotaped others – including children – nude in a locker room could have faced penalties as low as a Class B misdemeanor.”  “These actions are reprehensible, but become even more despicable when these videos are taken of children. Our children cannot protect themselves, and this bill stiffens penalties to help shield Wisconsin children from predators,” said Sen. Wanggaard.  During committee hearings, Kerkman was joined in her support of the bill by Pleasant Prairie Police Chief David Smetana, Christina Walker, and Christina’s daughter who was not only the person who first discovered the hidden cameras, but was also a victim. Assembly Bill 566 now heads to Governor Walker for his signature.”

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