Unlawful surveillance in New York is a felony under Penal Law Article 250. A second-degree conviction carries up to four years in prison; a first-degree conviction carries up to seven. Most convictions also trigger mandatory sex offender registration, and the victim can sue you separately for damages. The consequences reach further than most people expect, and the statute covers more conduct than the phrase “hidden camera” suggests.
What the Law Prohibits
The main statute is Penal Law 250.45, which makes it a crime to secretly use a recording or viewing device to capture images of another person in a private setting, without their knowledge or consent, and with a specific motive.1New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 250.45 – Unlawful Surveillance in the Second Degree Prosecutors have to prove each of those elements.
“Private setting” means a place and time when a reasonable person would believe they could fully undress in privacy. Bathrooms, bedrooms, and changing rooms are the obvious examples, but the statute is not limited to a fixed list.2New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 250.40 – Unlawful Surveillance Definitions “Imaging device” is defined broadly enough to include phones, cameras, body-worn devices, and any other instrument that captures visual images. And “intimate parts” includes areas covered only by underwear, so recording someone in undergarments in a private space still qualifies.
The statute reaches four distinct scenarios:
- Secretly recording someone dressing, undressing, or exposing intimate parts in a place where privacy is expected, for amusement, entertainment, profit, or to degrade the victim.1New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 250.45 – Unlawful Surveillance in the Second Degree
- Doing the same for sexual arousal or gratification.
- “Upskirting” — using a device to capture images under someone’s clothing, regardless of where they are. This subsection does not require a private location.3New York State Senate. New York Penal Law PEN 250.45
- Secretly recording a person in an identifiable way during sexual activity, or alongside another person’s intimate parts, in a place where privacy is expected.
Every subsection requires that the recording be intentional and made without the victim’s knowledge or consent. The motive element is separate and matters: prosecutors need to show the recording was made for amusement, profit, sexual gratification, or to degrade or abuse the person recorded.4New York Courts. Unlawful Surveillance in the Second Degree Penal Law 250.45(1)
Penalties for Second-Degree Unlawful Surveillance
Second-degree unlawful surveillance is a Class E felony.1New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 250.45 – Unlawful Surveillance in the Second Degree For a Class E felony in New York, the maximum prison term is four years, and the minimum sentence, if the court sends the defendant to prison, must be at least one year.5New York State Senate. New York Penal Law PEN 70.00 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felony
A judge can also impose a fine of up to $5,000, or double the defendant’s gain from the crime, whichever is greater.6New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 80.00 – Fine for Felony Where a defendant profited from selling or distributing the recordings, the doubling provision can push the fine well above $5,000.
Instead of prison, or in combination with it, the court can order probation of three to five years.7New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 65.00 – Sentence of Probation Probation typically comes with technology restrictions, no-contact orders, and supervision requirements. Violating those conditions can send the defendant to prison.
When the Charge Becomes First Degree
The offense escalates to first-degree unlawful surveillance if the defendant has a prior unlawful surveillance conviction (first or second degree) within the previous ten years. No additional conduct is required. The prior conviction alone bumps the charge up.8New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 250.50 – Unlawful Surveillance in the First Degree
First-degree unlawful surveillance is a Class D felony. Maximum prison term: seven years. The fine structure is the same — up to $5,000 or double the gain from the crime.5New York State Senate. New York Penal Law PEN 70.00 – Sentence of Imprisonment for Felony Ten years is a long lookback window, and the jump from four to seven years of exposure is significant for what is otherwise the same conduct.
Sex Offender Registration
This is the consequence people usually don’t see coming. Convictions under subdivisions two, three, or four of Penal Law 250.45 qualify as “sex offenses” under New York’s Sex Offender Registration Act, which makes registration mandatory.9NYS DCJS. Sex Offender Registration Act
There is one safety valve. The trial court can waive registration if it finds, based on the nature of the crime and the defendant’s background, that registration would be “unduly harsh and inappropriate.” The defendant has to affirmatively move for this relief, and courts don’t grant it automatically.
Subdivision one of 250.45 — the basic recording-in-a-private-setting offense motivated by amusement or profit rather than sexual gratification — is not on the SORA trigger list. So not every conviction leads to registration, but most of the sexually motivated ones do. If you’re facing any 250.45 charge, the registration exposure should be one of the first things you raise with a defense attorney.
Sharing the Images Is a Separate Crime
New York also criminalizes distributing images obtained through unlawful surveillance, even if you weren’t the person who recorded them. Under Penal Law 250.55, knowingly sharing images of another person’s intimate parts, when those images were captured through unlawful surveillance, is dissemination of an unlawful surveillance image in the second degree. The critical element is knowledge — the person sharing must know the images were obtained illegally.10New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 250.55 – Dissemination of an Unlawful Surveillance Image in the Second Degree
Second-degree dissemination is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in jail. A first-degree version under Penal Law 250.60 carries higher penalties. People who forward these images sometimes assume they can only be charged if they were behind the camera. That’s not how the statute works.
Civil Lawsuits from the Victim
A criminal conviction is not the end of a defendant’s exposure. Civil Rights Law Section 52-b gives victims a private right of action against anyone who disseminates or publishes their intimate images without consent, including digitally altered images. The statute covers both actual dissemination and threats to disseminate, so a victim does not have to wait for widespread sharing before suing.11New York State Senate. New York Civil Rights Law 52-b – Private Right of Action for Unlawful Dissemination or Publication of an Intimate Image
A court can award:
- Compensatory damages for emotional distress and financial harm.
- Punitive damages for egregious conduct.
- Injunctive relief ordering the defendant to stop.
- Attorney’s fees and court costs.
The statute also lets a victim seek a court order requiring websites within New York’s jurisdiction to permanently remove the images. Removal can be pursued through a special proceeding, separate from a full damages trial.11New York State Senate. New York Civil Rights Law 52-b – Private Right of Action for Unlawful Dissemination or Publication of an Intimate Image
Deadlines for Charges and Lawsuits
Prosecutors have five years from the date of the offense to bring felony charges for first- or second-degree unlawful surveillance.12New York State Senate. New York Criminal Procedure Law 30.10 The clock runs from when the recording occurred, not when it was discovered, which matters when hidden cameras go undetected for long stretches.
On the civil side, New York applies a one-year statute of limitations to invasion-of-privacy claims under Civil Rights Law Section 51. A victim who waits too long can lose the right to recover damages even while a related criminal case is still active.
Defenses
Consent is the cleanest defense. Every subsection of 250.45 requires the recording to be made “without such person’s knowledge or consent.” If the person recorded knew about it and agreed, the statute does not apply. But consent in one context does not carry over. Agreeing to be photographed in a private setting is not the same as agreeing to have those images shared.
The prosecution also has to prove intent and one of the listed motives — amusement, entertainment, profit, sexual gratification, or degrading the victim.4New York Courts. Unlawful Surveillance in the Second Degree Penal Law 250.45(1) A defendant who can show the recording was accidental, or that no qualifying motive existed, has a real argument. In practice, though, a hidden camera in a bathroom or bedroom makes intent hard to dispute.
Article 250 does not include a blanket law enforcement exemption of the kind found in federal law. Government surveillance in New York must comply with the eavesdropping provisions elsewhere in Article 250 and with applicable constitutional protections.
Federal Video Voyeurism Law
Federal law is narrower than most people assume. Under 18 U.S.C. 1801, video voyeurism is a federal crime only in places under special federal jurisdiction, such as military bases, federal buildings, and national parks.13Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 U.S. Code 1801 – Video Voyeurism The federal offense is a misdemeanor with a one-year maximum, and it exempts lawful law enforcement, correctional, and intelligence activities. For conduct on non-federal property in New York, the state statute applies, and its penalties are considerably steeper.