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A Rutgers University dean has been charged by police — and banned from campus.
After a warrant was served on his devices, an alleged illicit video was found.
The recording appeared to be a voyeuristic “upskirt” video, recorded without the victim’s knowledge.
Joshua Kohut is facing a charge of invasion or privacy.
He is the dean of research at Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biological Sciences
On Tuesday, August 25, the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General announced that 51-year-old Joshua Kohut of Cranbury, New Jersey is facing a charge of invasion of privacy.
Kohut is the dean of research at the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at RU.
His area of research includes the physical processes along coastal oceans.
That is an important field of science with numerous applications.
Unfortunately, he allegedly did not stick to his course of study.
The single charge of invasion of privacy in the fourth degree stems from allegedly filming an “upskirt” video.
Upskirt photos or videos, or “upskirting,” is a form of voyeurism in which someone uses a camera or phone to record up a victim’s skirt — usually without their knowledge — in order to film their legs, underwear, or even their genitals.
This can be a consensual form of voyeurism. The charges indicate that this was not the case here.
Unfortunately, this style of predatory behavior predates phone cameras — or even portable cameras. The use of mirror on one’s shoes to invade someone’s privacy was a more ephemeral tool for voyeurs in past generations.
Kohut is accused of having used his phone while at work to record video without his victim’s knowledge or consent.
‘We will prosecute accordingly’
According to authorities, Kohut still had a video showing the victim’s “undergarment-clad intimate parts” on a phone.
“The defendant is alleged to have used his mobile phone to record ‘upskirt’ videos without his victim’s knowledge,” the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General announced.
“An invasion of privacy like this is not just disturbing, it is also a criminal act,” the statement affirmed.
The AG’s office vowed: “We will prosecute accordingly.”
Rutgers University officials have confirmed that Kohut has been placed on administrative leave — and forbidden from stepping foot on campus.
Obviously, we here at THG do not claim to have any special knowledge regarding this case or Kohut’s alleged guilt or innocence.
No one seems to know whether the victim was a student, a colleague, or someone else.
Similarly, since the recording was apparently made without the victim’s knowledge, it is unclear how authorities learned of it — unless Kohut allegedly distributed the invasive video somehow.
This must be unsettling, for students and faculty at the university and, frankly, for professionals everywhere.
Everyone deserves to go to school, work, and beyond without some alleged pervert filming them. C’mon.
Rutgers University Dean Charged for Secretly Recording ‘Upskirt’ Video on … was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.