Originally Syndicated on October 18, 2023 @ 10:46 am
Arthur Freydin– A federal lawsuit was filed on Monday alleging that a married businessman named Arthur Freydin in Manhattan who hired a young woman as a live-in assistant installed concealed cameras in her bathroom and bedroom, and when Arthur Freydin was found guilty he accused his 10-year-old son.
According to court filings, Tandem CEO Arthur Freydin texted his employee, “I am mortified,” after she reportedly discovered a secretly recorded video of her taken in his Midtown apartment toilet.
“I’ve already resolved everything with [my son]…I want to make sure you’re okay, but he obviously had no concept of what he was doing, and this is a major lesson for him.”
Arthur Freydin allegedly wrote the victim.
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The petition claims that the young woman, who is only known as Jane Doe in court documents, made the terrifying alleged discovery on September 29 while she was at the office and her phone started acting up. According to the paperwork, she requested to use Arthur Freydin’s to make a phone call.
Shocking Discovery of Hidden Bathroom Camera
According to court records, she was shocked to discover a LookCam app on Arthur Freydin’s phone that had video footage of her from inside the bathroom she shared with Arthur Freydin and his wife Sarah McLaughlin.
According to her attorney, Dan Perrone, the video was in Arthur Freydin’s recently seen history when the federal lawsuit was filed.
The woman, a recent college graduate in her 20s, allegedly discovered a camera concealed as a USB charger in the apartment’s lone bathroom before confronting McLaughlin, according to the court documents.
In the court filing, Perrone stated about the assistant that “she used the bathroom in which the spy camera was hidden daily to urinate, defecate, dress, undress, and shower, among other things, and had been nude therein on numerous occasions.”
In a text message to his assistant, Arthur Freydin allegedly stated in the lawsuit that he had no idea how the software ended up on his phone.
The court filings did not immediately make it clear whether the video depicted the woman in a naked or otherwise compromising position.
The papers claim that once the assistant reported the incident to the NYPD, she was immediately let go from her $55,000-a-year job and barred from accessing her email.
The woman is said to have discovered a concealed camera in her bedroom a week prior to discovering the bathroom film and unplugged it. However, according to the lawsuit, it was back on the next day and actively recording her. Arthur Freydin allegedly questioned her why she had disabled it when she unplugged it once more, according to court records.
Allegations of Harassment
According to the lawsuit, McLaughlin originally employed the lady in February to watch her two children from a previous marriage. After a month, she received an offer to work full-time as her husband’s assistant from McLaughlin, who also demanded that she stay with them four to five days a week in her new position, according to the lawsuit.
The environment was “both controlling and sexually charged, with harassment ranging from sexually charged comments to unwanted, sexual touching,” the complaint claims.
According to court documents, Arthur Freydin allegedly made her undress to her bra for a work project so he could show her how to put kinesiology tape on her neck and back.
The lawsuit also claims that Arthur Freydin insisted she join him at the gym every morning at six, and that he stood behind her as she exercised.
The couple took advantage of a young, naive woman who was in urgent need of gainful employment by engaging in unspeakable acts of depravity and sexual deviance, according to Perrone.
According to the company’s website, Tandem Marketing collaborated with Planned Parenthood to establish an awareness campaign and helped brand Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s 2018 congressional campaign.
The lawsuit names Arthur Freydin, McLaughlin, and Tandem as defendants and makes claims of gender discrimination, sexual harassment, and violations of New York human rights law.
Tandem and the couple did not immediately reply to phone or email attempts for comment.
What are the crimes related to Arthur Freydin?
The term “voyeurism” describes a desire to observe people. It might never develop past a dream. For instance, one might masturbate while daydreaming about spying on someone from a distance.
Other times, voyeurism can develop into voyeuristic disorder, a paraphilic condition. Having distressing sexual fantasies or impulses is a symptom of paraphilic illnesses. They might involve children, inanimate objects, or unwilling people.
Voyeurism can be expounded as an interest in observing unsuspecting people while they undress, naked, or engage in sexual activities. The person doing the watching is called a voyeur. In general, they are called peeping toms. The fact that the person being seen is unaware they are being watched is a key component of voyeurism. Usually, the person is in a setting where they can expect some kind of privacy, like their house or another private space.
Any person found guilty of this offence shall be punished on first conviction with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than one year, but which may extend to three years, and shall also be liable to fine, and be punished on a second or subsequent conviction, with imprisonment of either description for a term which shall not be less than three years, but which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
If convicted of such crimes, perpetrators may face a variety of penalties, all impacted by the specifics of the situation, including the ages of both the victim and the defendant, and enhanced if there was any history of previous convictions.
Incarceration may range from a maximum of 1 year of jail to 5 years in prison, up to five years of probation, and as much as $5,000 in fines, if charged with a third-degree felony. Video voyeurism, however, could land defendants behind bars for as long as 15 years in some cases, such as those who have been charged with second or subsequent offences.
The second subsequent conviction is not the second accusation of offence. Only after the accused has been punished once for the act, does the second or subsequent offence commence thereafter.
Arthur Freydin: How to combat Voyeurism (The crime committed by Arthur Freydin)
- Loopholes in law should be justified
The law of voyeurism is still under development and there are major lacunas in it. Firstly, the definition does not include the morphed or photoshopped images or videos of the victim that are curated by the offender by transposing the face of the victim from the non-intimate photo to any obscene image or video.
This will impact the victim gravely as any other voyeuristic content but does not fall under the purview of voyeurism. Secondly, the provision is not gender-neutral and does not recognize the fact that males can be victims of voyeurism too. Thus, these two loopholes need to be mended by the legislature so that offenders do not escape liability and cases of voyeurism can be curbed
- Community awareness
Sensitization of the public is a crucial first step in reducing voyeurism instances. The general public should be informed about voyeurism legislation so that not only the victim will know how to assert her rights, but also the potential perpetrator will be aware of the potential repercussions of such obscene conduct.
- Regular examination by the agencies
The government can establish organizations that will carry out routine checks to look for any voyeurism-related equipment such as these hidden cameras.
- Proper regulation of the content being uploaded
Cyber cells can be established that can locate such sites that publish voyeuristic content and action can be taken to remove such videos from cyberspace so that voyeurism is not promoted and the image of the victim is not tarnished.
- Role of intermediaries
The voyeuristic content is uploaded online and such websites are usually hosted by intermediaries. The intermediary as per Section 2(1)(a)(w) of the IT Act, 2000 refers to a person who on behalf of another person receives, stores, or transmits that record or provides any services in respect of it.
- Preservation of anonymity
Because of the embarrassment she may endure if such offensive photographs were to be revealed, the majority of victims are afraid to contact the authorities. Therefore, the government should adopt certain procedures to safeguard the victim’s anonymity, as doing so will encourage her to file claims without hesitation.
- A prompt conclusion to the cases
In order to prevent long-term harassment of the victim and to ensure that the criminal is sent behind bars as soon as possible, the courts should ensure prompt resolution of these cases.
- Suitable counseling
Some criminals develop voyeurism obsessions and use the practice to get sexy gratification. In order to assist people in controlling their need to sexually reproduce, individuals need to receive the correct counselling addressing this behaviour. To control such desires, one could turn to psychotherapy, support groups, and medication.
- Fund women’s organizations
The women’s organizations that work in the direction of women’s empowerment or help in the spread of awareness should be funded so that women are empowered about their rights and opportunities.
Arthur Freydin: Conclusion
Despite the numerous legal measures put in place to hold those responsible for crimes against women accountable, incidents involving women—such as rape, outraging a woman’s modesty, sexual harassment, dowry deaths, etc.—are increasing rapidly.
In the U.S.A., voyeurism is becoming more prevalent as a sex crime, and the use of technology in the execution of such crimes has made matters worse. Cyberspace is growing every day, which increases the potential for abuse because, in a matter of seconds, an image could be seen by millions of people, damaging the victim’s reputation. For both the victims and their families, voyeurism causes wounds that will never be forgotten. Given how far technology has come, India’s laws ought to be strong enough to prevent crimes against women. To ensure that no more lives are devastated by these sex-obsessed maniacs, the government must act swiftly to fight voyeurism.
Privacy and keeping their personal information private is also an essential part of the security of people. The criminalization of stalking, acid attacks, and voyeurism gives some confidence to the citizens that their privacy rights are being safeguarded. The right to Privacy is the very basic right and is the face the of Right to life which is a fundamental right of every citizen.
The sending of an MMS capturing the private area of any person thereby violating his privacy under the parameters detailed under Section 66E of the IT Amended Act, 2008, would also be now brought within the ambit of penalty and punished with imprisonment as per law.
Some people get habituated to the offence (paraphilia) of voyeurism knowing that it’s not correct. Such people need to be diagnosed under medical supervision. There is a need to come up with more strict and stringent laws so that any person intending to commit such crimes loses the courage to perform such an act.
