Princeton Borough Police
Princeton University student Richard Tuckwell, was accused of invasion of privacy for allegedly taking "sexually explicit" photos of another student while he slept.
By Andrew Mach, NBC News
A Princeton University student has been charged with invasion of privacy after he allegedly took sexually explicit photos of another student while he was sleeping in a dorm room.
Princeton Borough Police said Richard Charles Tuckwell, a 20-year-old student from Australia, met a 19-year-old male Princeton student at a party on Sept. 16. They later returned together to a campus dorm room where the victim, who had been drinking, fell asleep, according to a police statement.
Tuckwell allegedly took “sexually explicit photographs of the victim without the victim’s consent.” Then, police said, the victim, whose name has not been released, awoke and saw Tuckwell taking the photos with his cell phone.
Police said there is no evidence the photographs were distributed to anyone or posted online.
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Tuckwell turned himself in to police on Sept. 21. He was processed, charged and released without bail, Princeton Police Capt. Nicholas Stutter said.
Tuckwell’s Princeton-based lawyer, Arnold Mellk, told the Daily Princetonian that his client planned to plead not guilty to the charges but declined to comment further.
Tuckwell has not been suspended from the university, a Princeton spokesperson said, who added the university is conducting its own investigation, the Daily Princetonian reported.
Police said they are continuing to investigate sexual assault allegations related to the incident.
If convicted, Tuckwell faces three to five years in prison. He is due in court Oct. 1.
Two other similar incidents have been the subject of much attention in New Jersey in recent years. Both happened at Rutgers University in 2010.
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In one, student Minjin Oh fondled his sleeping roommate and used his cell phone to make a video recording. The roommate woke up and reported it to university police. Oh admitted to the unwanted sexual contact and could face up to 364 days in jail.
In the other, Dharun Ravi used a webcam on his computer to spy on his roommate, Tyler Clementi, kissing another man without Clementi’s knowledge. Clementi killed himself three days later. Ravi was convicted earlier this year of 15 counts of invasion of privacy and served 20 days in jail.
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