Legislation stemming from real estate executive Michael Lyons' secret videotaping of women at his Sacramento County home was approved today by the Assembly, the same day that Lyons learned he must do jail time.
Assembly Bill 708 would extend the statute of limitation on such crimes, allowing charges to be filed within one year after discovery of hidden videotaping that is meant to invade privacy or arouse the offender's sexual desire.
Assemblyman Steve Knight, a Palmdale Republican and former Los Angeles police officer, said he crafted the bill in response to the Lyons case and incidents in which predators would hide cameras at shopping mall escalators to videotape beneath women's dresses.
AB 708, which passed the Assembly 67-0, now goes to the Senate.
Lyons pleaded guilty last month to secretly videotaping four prostitutes he hired from online services.
Lyons learned today that he will be jailed for his crimes. Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said he had rejected Lyon's application to serve his sentence under home arrest with electronic monitoring.
Lyons pleaded guilty to four felony counts. A sentencing brief in the Lyons case described a 20-year pattern of similar misconduct that was not charged because the statute of limitations had expired.
The statute of limitations for most crimes is three years after the alleged offense. The deadline under a specific misdemeanor video voyeurism law is even tighter, one year.
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