Surreptitious upskirt subway photos are chilling enough without the knowledge that the perpetrator is a noted urologist and that his recording device of choice is a sneaky little video camera disguised as a pen, Pervy Inspector Gadget-style. Today it was revealed that Dr. Adam W. Levinson, who is charged with all of the above, has agreed to a no-jail plea deal.
The doctor pleaded guilty to unlawful surveillance in the second degree—a felony, albeit of the lowest level—and will likely get five years probation when he's sentenced in March. Stunningly, Levinson won't have to register as a sex offender on the basis that he has received “psychiatric treatment for his difficulty.”
Levinson's "difficulty" came to light in August 2012, when a hawk-eyed TSA agent spotted the doctor on the subway, subtly shifting his pen (and paper) each time a nearby woman moved. He was arrested and promptly relieved of his duties at Mount Sinai, where he was an assistant professor in the Division of Robotics and Minimally Invasive Surgery. A police search of Levinson's home yielded 19 other video clips, which apparently showed him following women around the city in streets and subways, including some in which the camera was pointed up the dresses of at least two different women.
"This is a gross violation of privacy, and unfortunately it's common," said Emily May, Executive Director of Hollaback!, a non-profit dedicated to ending street harassment, adding that victims of such activities often report depression, anxiety and post traumatic stress disorder. That Levinson is a well-regarded physician is not strange, May said.
"Street harassers come from all walks of life. It's no surprise that this guy was a doctor. Street harassment isn't a race thing, it's not a class thing—it's a power thing."
