He likes women's legs, says Daniel Laws of Wyncote, Pa., a postal worker. What's wrong with that? \n Plenty, said Municipal Judge Seamus P. McCaffrey, who convicted Laws of invasion of privacy and possession of obscene material and placed him on probation for two years. He was also ordered to begin counseling at a sexual rehab center. \n It wasn't Laws admiration of female legs that got him in trouble. It was his desire to secretly videotape them, using a video camera discretely hidden in a duffel bag. Laws carried the duffel bag down to a Filene's store in Philadelphia last May and June and carefully slid it between the legs of unsuspecting women. \n As a result, he had the honor of becoming the first person in the state to be convicted under a new anti-peeping Tom law, which took effect in May. The law makes it a crime to watch, photograph or film someone fully or partly nude without that person's permission if the person is in a place where there should be a reasonable expectation of privacy. \n Judge McCaffrey, a police officer for 20 years before he went on the bench, said he had never seen anything like this before. \n Even Laws, whose stalking was detected on the store surveillance system, admitted he made a mistake because he got carried away. "I did a stupid thing," he said. "I wanted to get a little bit more. I wanted to see panties. It makes for the full leg. It was a bad idea." \n Laws' duffel bag, in addition to the camera, contained three other tapes displaying his handiwork and appreciation for female legs. \n The legman said he knew he could have gotten the requisite thrill simply by buying or renting an X-rated movie but, he added, "my ego told me I could do it myself." Laws has since apologized to all of the women he photographed.
All models were at least 18 years old at the time of their performance. 18 U.S.C. 2257 Record-Keeping Requirements Compliance Statement.
