Wealthy Connecticut mother of four Hadley Palmer pleaded guilty to secretly filming minors without their consent in her home.
As the Associated Press reports, the 53-year-old entered a guilty plea on Jan. 19 on three counts of voyeurism and risk of injury to a minor. Authorities said she committed the felonies in 2017 and 2018 in a $10 million estate in Belle Haven. Palmer, the daughter of hedge fund founder Jerrold Fine, is in the middle of a divorce from her husband of 28 years, venture capitalist Bradley Palmer.
As part of a plea deal, Palmer agreed to plead guilty to avoid facing more serious charges including employing a minor in an obscene performance, conspiracy to employ a minor in an obscene performance, and second-degree possession of child sex abuse imagery. The same enclave where the felonies were committed was where high school student Martha Moxley was murdered at age 15 in 1975.
According to court documents, Palmer was accused of filming the minors with “intent to arouse or satisfy the sexual desire of such person or any other person.” She is facing between 90 days and five years behind bars, and must register as a sex offender and serve 20 years of probation. She is expected to be sentenced on Aug. 1, according to court records.
Despite the high profile of her arrest, the judge has sealed many details of the case, including arrest warrant affidavits. It is not known how authorities became aware of the crime, or how she was arrested.
“I’ve never had a case where I’ve moved to seal the file,” Connecticut public defender Christine Perra Rapillo told AP. “It’s not a practice that you usually see in criminal court. The presumption in all courts, particularly criminal courts, is that the proceedings are open.”
