Nosy neighbors are the worst, especially the self-entitled ones who think they have the right to invade others’ privacy. With this in mind, a California resident was folding their laundry in their bedroom naked on a Sunday night when they heard a knock at the door a little while later. To their surprise, it was the Orange County Police. They had come to inform the occupant that their neighbor had recorded them through the bedroom window and had called the authorities shortly after.
It was “one of the most embarrassing and frightening encounters I have had,” the Californian recalled in a report they posted to Reddit’s r/legaladvice. They admit to being incredibly careless with exposing their nude body in front of an open window but “also feel gross about someone recording me naked in my home and calling the police on meโฆ” They continue, “I get why they did that (if they felt they needed proof), but I feel extremely violated,” to which anyone would naturally agree. Calling the police on a neighbor indecently exposing themself is one thing, but who’d ever think to record it?
Needless to say, this case was clearly an accident, based on the story the Orange County tenant explained. As for the officers who made the visit, they mentioned that appearing naked in one’s home isn’t technically illegal, but more precautions should taken in the future. “My blinds have been pulled shut tightly since the incident,” OP firmly states. At the end of the post, they go to ask other Reddit users if they need to hire a lawyer or be concerned about a warrant being put out for their arrest. Not to mention, “I would prefer not to have someone I don’t know possessing a video of me naked,” they remarked.
The top commenter and thousands of others believe that the Californian should be fine, but they should make extra sure that the neighbor deleted the video. Other users went on to criticize the creepy neighbor for recording in the first place. “The only illegal thing in this story is that the neighbor filmed you,” says a Redditor. “This may run afoul of ‘Peeping Tom Laws’ against voyeurism, depending on your jurisdiction.” “I do have a problem with them filming you, without your permission while you were in your home,” another chimes in. “That’s weird. That is what should be concerning you.”
One of the Reddit users claiming to be a cop also stated that everything should be fine. After all, “If you can’t be naked in your own home, where can you be naked?” they chuckle. Speaking of which, this isn’t the first time such an incident took place. Several years ago in Denver, Colorado, a pilot was spotted naked in their hotel room and reported to the police.
The airline employee was wrongfully arrested but eventually released since they’d done nothing wrong. The whole situation got so out of control and messed up the pilot’s life that the state ended up paying the innocent victim $300,000. While the Orange County resident of this story might not receive any compensation, hopefully, they will make sure that the meddlesome neighbor has that video deleted. Otherwise, more serious police reports can be made.
