Law Might Favor Erin Andrews' Peeping Tom

Laws on video voyeurism vary from state to state.

ByABC News
July 20, 2009, 1:23 PM

July 21, 2009— -- Erin Andrews, the ESPN reporter unknowingly videotaped naked in a hotel room, is not the first victim of so-called video voyeurs, but according to other victims, few states have laws to protect their rights.

The video of Andrews, 31, posted online last week has become an Internet sensation. Searches for the clip -- since removed from most video sharing sites but which continues to live in a cached version on the Web -- topped Google's most searched items for two days.

"We are focused on putting this predator behind bars. This conduct is unacceptable in a civilized society," Andrews' lawyer, Marshall B. Grossman, told "Good Morning America."

For now, however, investigators do not even know who "this predator" is. Furthermore, the hotel and its location remain unknown, making the search for the perpetrator even more difficult.

It is unclear if the video was shot through a specially made hole in a wall or door, or through the hotel door's peephole.

A cached clip found by ABC News, but of unconfirmed authenticity, shows grainy images of a naked woman whom the camera seems to be following, indicating the camera may be handheld.

If investigators are able to find the Peeping Tom behind the camera, there still might be a question of whether he can be prosecuted.

Laws banning video voyeurism vary from state to state.

While a host of technological devices, from cell phones to tiny cameras, make videotaping easy, prosecuting these crimes in some places is still difficult.