A 19-year-old man is in custody after a 28-year-old woman said she caught him secretly filming her during a massage inside a private room in Honolulu Sunday morning, then took his phone and called police herself. The alleged recording happened around 9 a.m., and officers positively identified the man before booking him on a felony privacy charge.
According to KITV, the man entered the private massage room where the woman was receiving treatment and allegedly began filming her with his cell phone. Police reports cited by the station say the woman noticed what was happening, took the phone from him, and called police herself. He was arrested and booked for violation of privacy in the first degree, and remains in custody pending investigation, the station reports.
What the Felony Charge Actually Requires
Violation of privacy in the first degree isn't a catch-all charge for unwanted recording — Hawaii law reserves it for a specific scenario. Under Hawaii Revised Statutes § 711-1110.9, a person commits the offense by intentionally or knowingly installing or using a device in a private place to observe, record, or broadcast another person in a stage of undress without consent, according to WomensLaw.org. That distinction matters: unauthorized recording in a private place when the person is not undressed may instead be treated as second-degree violation of privacy, a misdemeanor, under a separate statute, per the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
The first-degree charge carries real weight. It's classified as a Class C felony in Hawaii, with a statutory maximum of up to five years in prison and fines reaching $10,000, according to Justia Law. The same statute also authorizes sentencing courts to order the destruction of any unauthorized recordings created during a first-degree violation, a provision WomensLaw.org notes is meant to protect victims' privacy well beyond the criminal case itself.
Massage Facility Regulations
Commercial massage facilities in Hawaii are regulated by the Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs Board of Massage Therapy, according to the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs. Individual therapists in the state must meet licensing requirements and pass an examination, since Hawaii doesn't accept national MBLEx scores or out-of-state reciprocity, per MBLEx Guide.
Following an arrest on Oahu, suspects are typically processed through booking by the Honolulu Police Department before an initial appearance at Honolulu District Court for bail determination, according to the Law Office of Steve Cedillos. Felony cases on Oahu may move to the First Circuit Court, which handles felony trials. No bail hearing date or formal charging documents from the Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney's office had been reported as of this writing.
A Pattern Playing Out Beyond Hawaii
This isn't the first case Hoodline has tracked involving a hidden or secret recording inside a space where someone expected privacy. In May, police in Rockville Centre, New York, arrested a wellness center owner after a customer discovered a hidden recording device in a private massage room, leading to unlawful-surveillance charges.
Hawaii's high court has also been actively weighing how these statutes get applied. The Hawaii Supreme Court heard oral arguments in May in State v. Kaakimaka, a case examining legal definitions surrounding unauthorized cell phone recording of an individual in a private space under the same first-degree privacy statute, according to the Hawaii State Judiciary. That case focused on jury instructions and the sufficiency of charging documents rather than resolving the underlying facts.
For now, the Honolulu case remains in its early stages, with the suspect in custody and no additional details released about his identity or his relationship to the massage facility. Island News has indicated it plans to provide updates as the investigation moves forward.
