Former Playboy Playmate of the Year Dani Mathers has been charged over an incident in a Los Angeles gym, in which she took a naked photo of a stranger and shared it on Snapchat.
In July of this year, Mathers snapped a creepshot of an unnamed 70-year-old woman in the gym’s shower area, and captioned it ‘if I can’t unsee this, you can’t either’, before sharing it with her Snapchat following.
Police found the woman in Mathers’ photograph, and she is co-operating with their investigation. As of this weekend, it appears the case is going ahead, with reports that she has officially been charged with invasion of privacy.
California‘s Penal Code broadly defines invasion of privacy as viewing an area which someone is occupying with a reasonable expectation of privacy, by means of an instrument which can include a camera or mobile phone.
‘Intent to invade the privacy of a person or persons inside’ must also be proved, although based on Mathers’ alleged conduct, she’ll have quite a hard time arguing that she took the photo by accident.
The crime carries a penalty of up to six months in prison, but actual prison time, if any is served, will probably be minimal, with a probation order and a $1000 fine being the most likely outcome.
Mathers claimed at the time that sharing the image publicly was a mistake, and she only meant to send it to a friend.
In an apology posted to Twitter, she said: “There is no excuse … I understand fully the magnitude of this post and that I have hurt.” She added:
“This mistake has truly made me realise that something that can seem silly in a private conversation isn’t unnecessary.. All I’ve done here is spread negativity and hate when that isn’t who I am, I chose to model because I appreciate women and their bodies, so me of all people should never make light of another woman’s naked body.”
She has been banned for life from the gym in question, which is nice.
Source: The Hollywood Gossip.
Photo: Paul Archuleta / Getty.
