Dwight’s video voyeurism bill advances to Senate

Published 11:18 am Thursday, March 31, 2016

BATON ROUGE — Rep. Stephen Dwight, R-Moss Bluff, got his first bill approved by the House on Wednesday, and it deals with video voyeurism related to a Lake Charles case.

House Bill 42 was approved unanimously and moves to the Senate.

It provides that the time limitations for prosecution for video voyeurism cannot begin to run until the crime is discovered by the victim.

Current law says no person can be prosecuted for an offense not punishable by death or life imprisonment unless the prosecution is instituted within certain time limits.

The time limits are six years for a felony punishable by imprisonment at hard labor; four years for a felony not necessarily punishable by imprisonment at hard labor; two years for a misdemeanor punishable by a fine, imprisonment or both; and six months for a misdemeanor punishable by only a fine or forfeiture.

Dwight said the bill would correct a problem that occurred when a former Lake Charles physician was accused of taking inappropriate photos of his unsuspecting patients. He said the doctor couldn’t be prosecuted for many violations because of the current time limits for prosecution.

Peter Raymond LaFuria, the physician Dwight didn’t name, pleaded guilty in state district court in 2014 to five counts of video voyeurism, five counts of sexual battery, five counts of molestation of a juvenile and five counts of obscenity. He received 23 years in prison, with 15 years suspended.

When he was indicted on Aug. 16, 2007, his charges totaled 269 — 186 counts of video voyeurism, 78 counts of sexual battery and five counts of molestation. Dwight said the time limits at the time made it impossible to try LaFuria on many of those charges.

Some victims never got justice in criminal court, Dwight said after the House debate, because of the time limits. But he said some of them won civil judgments.

(MGNonline)