THE MICHIGAN PENAL CODE
Act 328 of 1931
750.539j Surveillance of or distribution, dissemination, or transmission of recording, photograph, or visual image of individual having reasonable expectation of privacy; prohibited conduct; violation as felony; penalty; exceptions; “surveil” defined.
Sec. 539j.
(1) A person shall not do any of the following:
(a) Surveil another individual who is clad only in his or her undergarments, the unclad genitalia or buttocks of another individual, or the unclad breasts of a female individual under circumstances in which the individual would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
(b) Photograph, or otherwise capture or record, the visual image of the undergarments worn by another individual, the unclad genitalia or buttocks of another individual, or the unclad breasts of a female individual under circumstances in which the individual would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.
(c) Distribute, disseminate, or transmit for access by any other person a recording, photograph, or visual image the person knows or has reason to know was obtained in violation of this section.
(2) A person who violates or attempts to violate this section is guilty of a crime as follows:
(a) For a violation or attempted violation of subsection (1)(a):
(i) Except as provided in subparagraph (ii), the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 2 years or a fine of not more than $2,000.00, or both.
(ii) If the person was previously convicted of violating or attempting to violate subsection (1)(a), the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.
(b) For a violation or attempted violation of subsection (1)(b) or (c), the person is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment for not more than 5 years or a fine of not more than $5,000.00, or both.
(3) This section does not prohibit a person from being charged with, convicted of, or punished for any other violation of law committed by that person while violating or attempting to violate subsection (1)(a) to (c).
(4) This section does not prohibit security monitoring in a residence if conducted by or at the direction of the owner or principal occupant of that residence unless conducted for a lewd or lascivious purpose.
(5) This section does not apply to a peace officer of this state or of the federal government, or the officer's agent, while in the performance of the officer's duties.
(6) As used in this section, "surveil" means to subject an individual to surveillance as that term is defined in section 539a.
History: Add. 2004, Act 155, Eff. Sept. 1, 2004
Notes of Decisions
People of Michigan v. Jeffrey Thomas Mazur (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
· cites it 7× “” The jury also found defendant guilty of violating MCL 750.539j(1)(b), which provides that a person shall not “photograph, or otherwise capture or record, the visual image of the undergarments worn by another individual, the unclad genitalia or buttocks of another individual,…”
People of Michigan v. Miguel Garcia (Mich. Ct. App. 2019).
· cites it 2× “Defendant was sentenced to 18 months to 5 years’ imprisonment for capturing the image of an unclothed person and two terms of 18 months to 4 years’ imprisonment for possession of child sexually abusive material, to be served consecutively to two terms of 4 to 7 years’…”
People of Michigan v. Cora Ladane Lymon (Mich. 2024).
· cites it 2× “722(r)(vi) and MCL 750.539j. These offenses all involve a sexual component and often sexual exploitation of a child, unlike defendant’s offense.”
People of Michigan v. Elva Clairene McClure (Mich. Ct. App. 2024).
· cites it 2× “Pursuant to a Killebrew1 agreement, the trial court sentenced defendant to serve concurrent terms of imprisonment for each of the offenses.”
People of Michigan v. Cedric James Simpson (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
“We affirm defendant’s conviction and the order requiring him to reimburse the county for the cost of providing him court-appointed and advisory standby counsel, but remand for the ministerial task of correcting the judgment of sentence to reflect tier II, rather than tier III,…”
People of Michigan v. Robert Eric Thompson (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
“Defendant was originally sentenced as a third-offense habitual offender, MCL 769.11, to three concurrent prison terms of 57 months to 10 years, with 209 days’ jail credit, pursuant to a Cobbs agreement.”
People of Michigan v. Ronald Robert Burrill (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
“On September 5, 2014, CS arrived at a Barnes & Noble in Northville Township with her three children: her daughter AC, age 13 years old; her five-year-old daughter; and her 20-month- old son.”
People of Michigan v. Ronald Robert Burrill (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
“On September 5, 2014, CS arrived at a Barnes & Noble in Northville Township with her three children: her daughter AC, age 13 years old; her five-year-old daughter; and her 20-month- old son.”
People of Michigan v. Monty Lamar Jamison (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
“The trial court ordered defendant’s appearance to bond continue. At sentencing, the trial court stated that by his conduct defendant “threw out the window” the prosecution’s sentence recommendation.”
People of Michigan v. Monty Lamar Jamison (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
“The trial court ordered defendant’s appearance to bond continue. At sentencing, the trial court stated that by his conduct defendant “threw out the window” the prosecution’s sentence recommendation.”
People of Michigan v. Benoni Jonathan Enciso (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).
“Defendant was sentenced to serve four concurrent sentences of two to five years’ imprisonment for the four convictions of capturing images of an unclothed person, all to be served consecutively to the four concurrent sentences of four and one-half to seven years’ imprisonment…”
People of Michigan v. Jason Robert Hart (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).
“3 The prosecutor charged defendant with surveilling an unclothed person, MCL 750.539j(1)(a), for this incident. But, no photographs or video were found on defendant’s electronic devices.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.539j(1)(a) — 4 cases
People of Michigan v. Monty Lamar Jamison (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
“The trial court ordered defendant’s appearance to bond continue. At sentencing, the trial court stated that by his conduct defendant “threw out the window” the prosecution’s sentence recommendation.”
People of Michigan v. Monty Lamar Jamison (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
“The trial court ordered defendant’s appearance to bond continue. At sentencing, the trial court stated that by his conduct defendant “threw out the window” the prosecution’s sentence recommendation.”
People of Michigan v. Jason Robert Hart (Mich. Ct. App. 2023).
“3 The prosecutor charged defendant with surveilling an unclothed person, MCL 750.539j(1)(a), for this incident. But, no photographs or video were found on defendant’s electronic devices.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.539j(1)(b) — 5 cases
People of Michigan v. Miguel Garcia (Mich. Ct. App. 2019).
“Defendant was sentenced to 18 months to 5 years’ imprisonment for capturing the image of an unclothed person and two terms of 18 months to 4 years’ imprisonment for possession of child sexually abusive material, to be served consecutively to two terms of 4 to 7 years’…”
People of Michigan v. Jeffrey Thomas Mazur (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
“” The jury also found defendant guilty of violating MCL 750.539j(1)(b), which provides that a person shall not “photograph, or otherwise capture or record, the visual image of the undergarments worn by another individual, the unclad genitalia or buttocks of another individual,…”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.539j(2)(a)(i) — 3 cases
People of Michigan v. Cora Ladane Lymon (Mich. 2024).
“722(r)(vi) and MCL 750.539j. These offenses all involve a sexual component and often sexual exploitation of a child, unlike defendant’s offense.”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.539j(2)(a)(ii) — 1 case
People of Michigan v. Cedric James Simpson (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
“We affirm defendant’s conviction and the order requiring him to reimburse the county for the cost of providing him court-appointed and advisory standby counsel, but remand for the ministerial task of correcting the judgment of sentence to reflect tier II, rather than tier III,…”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.539j(2)(b) — 5 cases
People of Michigan v. Robert Eric Thompson (Mich. Ct. App. 2016).
“Defendant was originally sentenced as a third-offense habitual offender, MCL 769.11, to three concurrent prison terms of 57 months to 10 years, with 209 days’ jail credit, pursuant to a Cobbs agreement.”
People of Michigan v. Ronald Robert Burrill (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
“On September 5, 2014, CS arrived at a Barnes & Noble in Northville Township with her three children: her daughter AC, age 13 years old; her five-year-old daughter; and her 20-month- old son.”
People of Michigan v. Ronald Robert Burrill (Mich. Ct. App. 2017).
“On September 5, 2014, CS arrived at a Barnes & Noble in Northville Township with her three children: her daughter AC, age 13 years old; her five-year-old daughter; and her 20-month- old son.”
People of Michigan v. Benoni Jonathan Enciso (Mich. Ct. App. 2020).
“Defendant was sentenced to serve four concurrent sentences of two to five years’ imprisonment for the four convictions of capturing images of an unclothed person, all to be served consecutively to the four concurrent sentences of four and one-half to seven years’ imprisonment…”
— Mich. Comp. Laws § 750.539j(4) — 1 case
People of Michigan v. Jeffrey Thomas Mazur (Mich. Ct. App. 2015).
“” The jury also found defendant guilty of violating MCL 750.539j(1)(b), which provides that a person shall not “photograph, or otherwise capture or record, the visual image of the undergarments worn by another individual, the unclad genitalia or buttocks of another individual,…”
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