Sheridan man found guilty of three counts of voyeurism
SHERIDAN (WNE) — After nearly six hours of deliberation Wednesday, a jury of five women and eight men found Shaun Kobielusz guilty of three counts of voyeurism.
Voyeurism is the clandestine and nonconsensual viewing of an individual in a location in which the person being viewed has a reasonable expectation of privacy, including restrooms, baths, bedrooms and other locations.
Evidence presented throughout the trial indicated the defendant installed three camera-enabled alarm clocks — including two in restrooms — to record private behaviors, without the consent of others.
To convict the defendant of voyeurism, 6th Judicial District Court Judge Matthew Castano explained, the jury must unanimously determine that, in early November 2020 in Sheridan County, Kobielusz looked into an enclosed area — or an area in which an individual has a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as restrooms, baths and showers — knowingly and without the consent of the person being viewed and captured images of a victim. Each count of voyeurism against the defendant corresponds with one of the defendant’s alleged victims.
During her closing argument, Deputy Sheridan County and Prosecuting Attorney Christina Cherni argued the prosecution had proven these elements through the testimony of the state’s five witnesses: the three alleged victims and two law enforcement investigators assigned to the case.
Defense attorney Ron Wirthwein had reminded jurors they should not indulge in conjecture or speculation, and the state, he argued, asked them to engage in conjecture by assuming Kobielusz purchased the surveillance equipment because it was ordered through his Amazon account. Someone else could have accessed the account, the defense posited, and the account had been used to purchase other items — such as women’s clothing — that were clearly not for Kobielusz.
Ultimately, the jury adhered to Cherni’s argument and delivered its verdict: guilty on all three counts.
This story was published on Sept. 1, 2022.
