Illegal Filming Using a Camera | Assisting a Client Charged With Illegal Filming and Closing the Case With Suspension of Indictment

🔗Illegal filming using a camera refers to the act of using a camera or a similar device with comparable functions to film a person's body that may cause sexual desire or a sense of shame, against the will of the person being filmed.

Whether the body part that was illegally filmed constitutes a ‘body that may cause sexual desire or a sense of shame’ is assessed objectively from the standpoint of ordinary, average people of the same gender and age group as the victim, considering whether it constitutes a body that may cause sexual desire or a sense of shame.

In addition, this is judged concretely, individually, and relatively by comprehensively considering the victim's attire and the degree of exposure, as well as the photographer's intent, the circumstances leading to the filming, the location, angle, and distance of the filming, the image on the original, and whether a particular body part was highlighted.

A person who violates this by illegally filming using a camera or the like is punishable by imprisonment for up to 7 years or a fine of up to 50 million won.

If the crime of illegal filming using a camera or the like is committed habitually, the sentence is aggravated by up to one half, and an attempt at illegal filming using a camera or the like is also punishable.

If a person begins an act closely connected to the offense of illegal filming using a camera or the like, such as pushing a mobile phone equipped with a camera function under the victim's skirt or inserting it into the gap beneath a restroom stall, the person may be regarded as having commenced the commission of illegal filming using a camera or the like.

The Supreme Court has also recognized the commencement of the offense of illegal filming using a camera or the like for acts such as holding a mobile phone equipped with a camera function in hand and crouching toward victims wearing skirts to point it at the inside of a victim's skirt.

According to the statistics on crime occurrence and arrests released by the National Police Agency, there were 5,490 cases of illegal filming using a camera that occurred in 2023, and as such crimes increase, even first-time offenders are finding it difficult to avoid heavy sentences.

In addition, because the act of contacting the victim itself may be interpreted as secondary harm given the nature of sexual offenses, receiving the help of an attorney to arrange a settlement with the victim can be helpful.

For the defense of illegal filming using a camera, the attorney argued that, although the client had filmed the victim, he had not distributed or disseminated it to others.

The attorney also emphasized that the client's commission of the offense in this case was not planned but impulsive, and requested that this be taken into account.

The attorney argued that the client had begged the victim for forgiveness and had reached a settlement with the victim.

The attorney emphasized that, while it was true that the client had committed an offense matching the alleged facts in this case, the client was sincerely remorseful for his wrongdoing and was making efforts toward the recovery of the victim's harm.