Summary: A man convicted of invasion of privacy for secretly recording his sexual partners twenty years ago is asking for a pardon from Gov. Eric Greitens, who has been indicted for the same thing.
Nearly twenty years ago, a Washington University law student, moonlighting as a male stripper, was convicted of invasion of privacy after he filmed his sex partners without their knowledge. Paul Henreid, formerly known as Paul Henroid, is now requesting a pardon from Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens, who is facing the same charge, according to The Kansas City Star.
Greitens was indicted last week for allegedly taking a photo of a woman he was having an affair with in a compromising position. His lawyers filed a motion to dismiss the charges using the same legal argument that Henreid’s attorney is using for the pardon.
Henreid’s attorney, Albert Watkins, sent the request to Greitens attorney. Watkins said in a press release that if the governor ignores the request, it would be “highly hypocritical” since they have nearly identical motions to dismiss. Watkins said, “What’s good for the Governor should be good for the gander.”
Watkins also represents the ex-husband of the woman having the affair with Greitens in 2015. The man had secretly recorded a conversation he had with his ex-wife where she claimed that Greitens took the nude photo of her to use as blackmail should she ever talk about their affair. Greitens denies ever threatening the woman with blackmail if she talked about their relationship.
Greitens was indicted by a St. Louis grand jury on Thursday for felony invasion of privacy. His motion to dismiss focuses on the invasion of privacy statute that is used for “situations such as voyeurs or peeping toms who take photographs in locations such as restrooms, tanning beds, locker rooms, changing rooms, and bedrooms. This law does not apply to the participants in sexual activity.” Greitens was in a consensual sexual relationship, he was not a peeping tom, according to his lawyers.
In 1999, Henreid pleaded guilty to invasion of privacy in St. Louis for filming several sex partners secretly. His lawyers had argued at the time that the statute was unconstitutionally vague and was intended for peeping toms, not people in consensual sexual activity.
One of the sexual partners was a female co-worker at the Metro East nightclub where he worked as an “exotic dancer.” A friend of Henreid’s, who was seeking a romantic relationship with the girl, broke the news of the secret tapes. The girl was 17 at the time of the filming so he was originally indicted in 1998 of invasion of privacy, promoting child pornography, possession of child porn and child abuse. The girl could legally consent to sex, but filming her fully or partially nude was illegal, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Henreid’s attorneys were unsuccessful in their argument but Henreid had pleaded guilty as part of an agreement. He pleaded to the one charge of invasion of privacy so the other charges could be dismissed. He was told he would receive probation, upon which if completed successfully would result in the conviction being removed. The female judge instead gave him 30 days of shock time, which is when one is required to stay the night in jail but is allowed out during the day to work. Henreid was left with a conviction because the judge didn’t feel he should be allowed to be a lawyer. She noted in a transcript of the hearing that he had “shown no regard for that law or the rights of others.”
Henreid had asked for a pardon in 2011 from then-Governor Jay Nixon but Nixon never acted on the request. Henreid is now a documentary filmmaker and lawyer in Walnut Creek, California and is considering running for public office. He admits that what he did was “deceitful and immoral” but the punishment he continues to suffer “is unwarranted based on the facts of this case.”
Greitens’ scandal has left many calling for his resignation and for an independent investigation.
Do you think taking photos or recording a consensual sexual partner is wrong? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
To learn more about others seeking pardons, read these articles:
- Mark Wahlberg Asks to be Pardoned for Prior Crimes in Massachusetts
- Pardons Given Out to 91 People Including Robert Downey Jr.
- Federal Judge Refuses to Clear Record of Pardoned Sheriff Joe Arpaio
Source: The Kansas City Star
Photo: stl.news