A mother-of-four has pleaded guilty to secretly recording three minors, including a child who was under the age of 15, in her multi-million pound mansion.
Hadley Palmer, the daughter of wealthy hedge fund founder Jerrold Fine, pleaded guilty to three counts of voyeurism and risk of injury to a minor for offences that happened in the US in 2017.
A regular at charity benefits and society galas, the woman from Connecticut, faces charges that she filmed someone either naked or in their underwear with the “intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desire of such person (defendant) or any other person.”
More serious charges of employing a minor in an obscene performance and possession of child pornography were dropped after Palmer agreed to a plea deal.
All three victims were minors (under the age of 18) at the time of the crimes, Captain Mark Zuccerella, a spokesperson for the Greenwich police said.
Palmer could be sentenced to between 90 days and 60 months in prison and will be registered as a sex offender.
In a ruling by Judge John Blawie, obtained by The Stamford Advocate, he wrote: “Between 2017 and 2018, the defendant knowingly photographed, filmed and recorded certain persons 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.”
Palmer, 53, has already begun serving the minimum required 90 days in the state women’s prison as part of her plea agreement.
An 83-year-old psychologist, Dr Jerome Brodie, who specialises in treating children, was also arrested in connection with the case in December, Greenwich police department said.
Brodie was charged with the failure to report abuse, neglect or injury of a child.
Hadley Palmer’s case was sealed by the judge to protect the victims’ identities.
Judge Blawie wrote that protecting the victims in the case outweighed keeping the case file open.
He said: “If the defendant may be considered as having thrust herself into the public spotlight by virtue of her wrongful behaviour and subsequent prosecution, the same may not be said of those parties already adversely impacted by this case.”
The Associated Press had argued against the sealing of the documents, saying that pseudonyms could be used for the victims while allowing the public to see the serious nature of the allegations.
Connecticut’s chief public defender, Christine Perra Rapillo, said that a sealing of the files was unusual.
“I’ve never had a case where I’ve moved to seal the file,” she told the Stamford Advocate. “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.”
