ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - A judge will decide the fate of the former Spencerville mayor who allegedly taped teenage girls while they were undressing.
The trial by court for 45-year-old Phillip Briggs took less than an hour this morning. Briggs was facing six counts of illegal use of a minor in nudity-oriented material after he was arrested for secretly taping teenage girls in various states of undress. Briggs ended up making a deal of pleading guilty to a reduced charge of voyeurism for one of the charges, four others would be dropped, and he would go to trial on just one charge. The deal was made because one of the girls was over the age to be considered a minor. His lawyer says the remaining charge should be also reduced to voyeurism because he didn't try to sell or distribute the recording.
"The image, the single image we are talking about, um there is clear indication that this was a result of a purpose, and from this state's exhibit, the purpose of sexually arousing or gratifying himself. Immorally. But not for any sort of business purpose or other transmission," says Kenneth Rexford, Defense Attorney.
But Allen County prosecutors argue that the method of how Briggs got the recording, is why it is a higher offense.
In this hearing Your Honor, we have not only the filming but the transfer of the video from the hidden camera to the laptop. That transfer on May 1st, 2022, between the date range, largely satisfies the illegal use of a minor," says Joe Everhart, Allen Co. Assistant Prosecutor.
Judge Jeffrey Reed will review the evidence which includes interviews, images, and today's arguments to make his decision, which will be announced on a future date.
