Theft victim uploads video of suspected thief

[Hum]

MILWAUKEE ? A Wisconsin man whose camcorder was briefly stolen has found a way to get back at the suspected thief: He uploaded to YouTube a video that the suspect took with the camera, a clip in which the man reveals his name, shows his face and admits he stole the camera.

Chris Rochester, 25, of La Crosse, said his camera was stolen a few weeks ago from the car of his boss, Republican state Senate candidate Bill Feehan. Police eventually arrested the suspect and returned the camera to Rochester, who set it aside.

Then, when Gov. Scott Walker made a recent visit to La Crosse, Rochester used the camera to film the event. When he went back to retrieve the video, he found 20 other segments the suspect apparently recorded.

Most were uneventful, generally 15- to 20-second clips of television screens. But one video caught Rochester's eye.

"This is my house, yes, and a stolen camera that I stole. But it's OK, the cop won't figure it out," the suspect says in the 79-second video, as he pans around a home and points out the kitchen and bathroom. Later he adds, "Oh yeah, to introduce you, my name is Houaka Yang. So yeah, how do you do."

Finally, he turns the camera to reveal his face and says with a smile, "And this is me. Hi."

The 20-year-old Yang was scheduled to make an initial appearance in court Wednesday, but the judge recused himself because he knew one of the victims. A new court date wasn't immediately scheduled.

Yang was charged with two counts of being party to misdemeanor theft and one misdemeanor count of carrying a concealed weapon. The charges carry a maximum penalty of two years and three months in jail and a $30,000 fine.

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[exotoxic]

Is it not illegal to upload a video without the persons consent?? And if it is just because he is a thief does not mean he should be exempt :rolleyes:

[Dick Montage]

Of course it's not. I upload videos all the time, and don't get consent of all concerned people.

[zeta_immersion]

There should be a law against stupid ... let me check the Oxford

[AJerman]

Is it not illegal to upload a video without the persons consent?? And if it is just because he is a thief does not mean he should be exempt :rolleyes:

It all comes down to reasonable expectation of privacy. While I could see someone TRYING to make a case out of it, I don't think any jury would find a thief's recording on a stolen camera to have any reasonable expectation of privacy.

Now if you stole the camera and posted videos of the original owner's online, yes, you could get in trouble.

[DPyro]

Apparently he took the video down...