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Local News

Starbucks Peeper Sentenced to Jail

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Story Published: Jan 18, 2012 at 12:55 PM PDT

Story Updated: Jan 18, 2012 at 1:03 PM PDT

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A Colorado man who placed a hidden camera in the women's restroom at a Starbucks near San Diego State University was sentenced Wednesday to 89 days in jail and ordered to undergo sex offender counseling.

James Burkhart, 26, pleaded guilty in October to a misdemeanor charge of attempting to secretly film a person.

Deputy City Attorney Christy Bowles told Commissioner Robert Rice that Burkhart was on probation after being convicted in 2009 of placing a cell phone on a wall in a tanning salon in Colorado and peeking over a wall at the same salon.

Bowles argued unsuccessfully that Burkhart should be ordered to register for life as a sex offender, saying he was likely to re-offend.

Burkhart's camera, which was found by a Starbucks employee on July 17, 2010, at the coffeehouse near SDSU, contained video from another unknown location in which women were shown in various stages of undress, the prosecutor said.

Bowles said the attempted filming at the Starbucks was "invasive, predatory" and a "complete invasion of privacy."

Defense attorney Timothy Richardson said Burkhart was in San Diego studying for helicopter pilot school when he became depressed and got the wrong medications to treat the condition.

Burkhart was ordered to report for custody Feb. 15. He will be on probation for three years after serving his sentence.
 
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