The meaning of “concealed” as used in the crime of unauthorized invasion of privacy (Pen. Code, § 647, subd. (j)(3)(A)) means screened from the view of the person being recorded. The 17-year-old minor surreptitiously recorded an act of sexual intercourse with a female. When the victim was told by the minor that she was being recorded, she turned and saw the minor was holding his cell phone behind her. The victim told him to stop and then asked the minor to delete the video. The minor unsuccessfully tried to condition deletion of the video on the victim’s agreement to have sex with another male. The juvenile court found the minor had illegally invaded the victim’s privacy. On appeal the minor alleged there was insufficient evidence that he had “concealed” his cell phone. Held: Affirmed. Section 647, subdivision (j)(3)(A) criminalizes the use of a concealed camera of any type to secretly record another identifiable person, whether dressed or not, for the purpose of viewing the body or undergarments of the other person in a place where they have a reasonable expectation of privacy, with the intent to invade the other person’s privacy. The word “concealed” as used in the statute could mean placing the camera in a hidden location, but also includes keeping it from the sight of the person being recorded. The minor kept the camera out of the victim’s sight, hidden from her view, until after he commenced recording the victim without her knowledge. This is concealment under the statute.

The full opinion is available on the court’s website here: https://www.courts.ca.gov/opinions/archive/B292083.PDF