Sex videotaping
brings 1 year in jail

A Salt Lake man hid
a camera in a clock in
his roommate's room

A 23-year-old Salt Lake man was sentenced to a year in jail for covertly videotaping his roommate having sex using a camera hidden in a clock radio.

Jason Turner, an airman first class in the Air Force, was convicted in Circuit Court in May of four counts of first-degree invasion of privacy.

His attorney, Deputy Public Defender Ed Harada, had argued for probation, saying Turner has no criminal record and has volunteered thousands of hours helping others in the community.

Deputy Attorney General Trish Morikawa sought the maximum five-year term, arguing that Turner has not realized the harm he has caused to Joseph Tripp and his family.

Circuit Judge Steve Alm agreed that a five-year prison term was not appropriate given Turner's background and the good work he has accomplished. But to not give him some jail time would depreciate the seriousness of what he did, Alm said.

An individual's privacy is "incredibly important," and not only did Turner violate Joseph Tripp's privacy rights, but those of the women who were videotaped with him, Alm said.

He also expressed concern that photos of Tripp were posted on the Internet. "Mr. Tripp's got to worry about it for the rest of his life," Alm said.

Tripp, who shared a two-bedroom apartment in Salt Lake with Turner, said no amount of restitution can compensate him. He "took away my privacy, integrity, everything," he told the court.

People go up to him still and mention they saw him on TV, referring to news coverage during Turner's trial where jurors were shown the videotapes Turner took of him having sex with women.