Connecticut socialite Hadley Palmer sentenced to one-year in jail for secretly filming three people

Rich Connecticut socialite Hadley Palmer received a one-year prison term for secretly filming three individuals for sexual gratification purposes, including a minor, according to several publications. Additionally, the criminal activity took place within Palmer's opulent beachfront estate. She was also given a 20-year probationary term and ordered to register as a sex offender for a period of ten years. Furthermore, Palmer, 54, entered a plea of guilty to three felony counts of voyeurism and one count of risk of injury to a minor in state Superior Court on January 19. According to NBC Connecticut, she did not speak during the hearing and was sentenced on Tuesday in Stamford, Connecticut. The victims were silent as well. However, Paul Ferencek, the state's attorney for Stamford-Norwalk, provided some fresh information on Palmer's misdeeds. According to NBC Connecticut, Ferencek alleged Palmer had unknowingly recorded the victims in various states of undress, including entirely naked, in order to "arouse her sexual desire and that of an unnamed third party." Additionally, a 30-year criminal protective order was also requested by one of Palmer's female victims to keep the affluent woman away from her.

More on this case

There are limited additional facts known about Palmer's offences, which took place between 2017 and 2018, as Superior Court Judge John F. Blawie moved to seal all relevant court records in February to safeguard the victims' identities. But the Associated Press disagreed with the Judge's action, noting that defense attorneys and public defenders thought it was exceedingly unusual to seal Palmer's case. Christine Perra Rapillo, the lead public defender for Connecticut, told the AP, "I've never had a case where I've moved to seal the file. It's not a practice that you usually see in criminal court. The presumption in all courts, particularly criminal courts, is that the proceedings are open." On the other hand, Judge Blawie later released a summary of the records when he sealed Palmer's case files, stating, "Between 2017 and 2018, the defendant knowingly photographed, filmed and recorded certain individuals without their knowledge or consent, and under circumstances where those individuals were not in plain view, and had a reasonable expectation of privacy, and at least one photograph taken by the defendant depicted a person who was a minor."