Tracy Driscoll, the man who secretly took photos and made videos of women as they undressed at a local tanning salon, won’t be able to get on the internet or use a phone with a camera, District Judge Scott McPherson said. Driscoll was sentenced last Friday in Barton County District Court.
He will be placed on 36 months probation with Community Corrections after he serves 60 days in the county jail.
“This is the maximum sentence by law that he could have received,” Barton County Attorney Amy Mellor said.
Driscoll entered a plea of “no contest” in September to six counts of “breach of privacy,” a level 8 person felony.
His sentences on the first three counts run consecutively and total 34 months. He was also sentenced to a total of 24 months on the next three counts. However, those sentences will run concurrently with the other sentences since 34 months is the maximum allowed. He was also fined $250 for each conviction and will reimburse a victim for counseling fees.
Driscoll’s criminal history placed him in the “presumptive probation” box on the sentencing grid, so he will be assigned to Community Corrections for an extended probation of 36 months after his jail time. This is double the probation time a person would normally receive, Barton County Attorney Amy Mellor said.
“The judge specifically found that he was a danger to the community,” Mellor said.
Driscoll was also ordered to have no contact with any of the victims “in any form or fashion,” Mellor said.
He is banned from being on the internet. He may not own or possess any device that connects to the internet, including a tablet, phone or computer. He is also banned from having any phone with a camera.
When the defense argued that this would make it difficult for Driscoll to conduct business, it was suggested that he get a land line.
All of the victims wrote statements to the court, and two addressed the court in person Friday.
“He is convicted of six ‘person felonies’ as a result of these convictions,” Mellor noted. That means any future felony convictions would automatically result in a prison sentence.
A pre-sentencing investigation showed Driscoll has a previous felony conviction, stemming from for an motor vehicle accident that resulted in a death in Russell in 2007. Driscoll, then 24 years old, lost control of a pickup on Oct. 21, 2007. He fled the scene before officials arrived, but passenger Rebecca Trible, a sophomore at Kansas State University, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Civil cases filed
On Nov. 1, three of the women who were victims of Driscoll filed civil cases in Barton County. Two women filed a suit jointly, claiming “great emotional distress and humiliation.” They seek in excess of $75,000.
The third woman cited “evasion of privacy and emotional distress” as a result of Driscoll secretly taking photos and video without permission. She also alleges “intentional infliction of emotional distress,” and seeks in excess of $75,000.
