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The alleged victims of a disgraced Airbnb voyeur have been awarded upwards of $45 million for being surreptitiously recorded at one of his South Carolina rental properties in 2001.
On Wednesday, September 25, 2024, plaintiffs Heather and Gabriel Crespo embraced one another as they were awarded $10 million in punitive damages. The verdict came less than 24 hours after the same jury awarded them a minimum of $27 million in compensatory damages.
“Hidden cameras in short-term rental properties are a profound threat to everyone’s right to privacy,” wrote attorney Deborah Barbier following Wednesday’s verdict. “Heather and Gabriel were incredibly brave to tell their story… we are very gratified by the jury’s verdict.”
At the opposite end of their victory, defendant Rhett C. Riviere, 70, slumped into his chair after he and his cohorts were fined for claims of negligence, negligence per se, unfair trade practices, intentional infliction of emotional distress, invasion of privacy, and constructive fraud misrepresentation.
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“THE MAN BEHIND THE HIDDEN CAMERA…”
(Andrew Fancher/FITSNews)
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The prominent heir of an Aiken Winter Colony family, Riviere remains accused of secretly recording the Crespos using an extensive network of hidden cameras mounted within the bedroom and bathroom of a cottage he leased in 2001.
As previously reported by FITSNews, authorities were unaware of Riviere’s voyeurism until his ex-fiance, Katherine Thomas, discovered two microSD cards in 2019 — cards containing myriad videos of men, women and alleged children across multiple properties owned by the socialite.
Upon conferring with her friends, lawsuits maintain that Thomas surrendered Rhett’s videos to the Aiken Department of Public Safety in 2019. Within three days, the case was purportedly referred to agents of the S.C. Law Enforcement Division (SLED) due to a “conflict of interest.”
Court filings maintain that on August 26, 2019, SLED executed a search warrant at one of Rhett’s properties. They furthermore allege that upwards of 40 devices were scanned, resulting in the seizure of 3.7 terabytes of data spanning a twenty-year period.
In the immediate aftermath of being served a search warrant, Riviere is said to have texted Josee Riviere — his ex-wife of 12 years. Represented by Aiken, S.C., attorney John Harte, she later testified to having no knowledge of her ex-husband managing rental properties.
While sources maintain that not all of her ex-husband’s 24,000 videos were untoward, they reiterated that countless recordings appear to depict naked teenagers, as well as “unidentified” people engaged in sexual activities across his rental properties.
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RELATED | ‘THIS GUY NEEDS TO BE STOPPED’
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“There were a lot of computers,” testified Heather when recalling one of Rhett’s hidden offices during her 2001 tenancy. “And there were computers all over the desk. All over. And all I could think of is, ‘Oh my god… I should not be in [Riviere’s] office.’ And so, we walked out the door.”
Multiple lawsuits have since mentioned nonconsensual recordings of a minor across “785 Grace” and “The Sea Horse Cottage,” specifically. Attorneys have moreover noted hidden camera systems aboard Rhett’s yachts docked in Charleston and Beaufort, S.C.
Despite the aforementioned, it took SLED nearly two years to charge Riviere with one count of voyeurism on June 3, 2021. Over a year later, Heather and Gabriel found out about the existence of their videos — leading to two additional voyeurism charges within the month.
“They committed to a resolve,” said Barbier during closing remarks on Monday, September 26, 2024. “That is what you have seen in this courtroom over the last week. And this is what they have done over the last two years in bringing this lawsuit to light.”
According to court filings, at least eight civil lawsuits have accused Rhett of voyeurism. Unfortunately, the Palmetto State’s public index does not include notices of intent to file, which could result in private settlements outside of our purview.
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“PURSUANT TO THE FIFTH AMENDMENT…”
(Andrew Fancher/FITSNews)
The eight-day trial was divided into two phases following the Crespo’s request for compensatory and punitive damages from Rhett and his cohorts. Alongside Barbier, the plaintiff’s legal team included fraud litigation attorney Wes Few and criminal defense attorney Ryan Beasley.
“We will never know how many times Mr. Riviere hit play, hit rewind, hit record [or] clicked his mouse,” concluded Barbier during the compensatory phase of Rivere’s trial. “We do know, with Heather and Gabriel, their mental anguish will linger long after the cameras have stopped.”
According to sources, the couple’s intimate moments were discovered on one of Rhett’s HP Pavilion desktop computers after 2019. Lawsuits furthermore suggest that he digitized the aforementioned recordings and labeled the final product “Heather and Gabriel.”
Come Tuesday, September 24, 2024, the jury found Rhett and two of his limited liability companies liable for $25 million. His ex-wife was furthermore ordered to pay a minimum of $2 million, pending a potential tripling of liability by S.C. circuit court judge Martha Rivers.
“To the extent there are videos, there is no evidence,” countered attorney Joe McCulloch during the punitive phase of his client’s trial. “They all include unidentified people. People who have not been asked if they were consensual videos or non-consensual.”
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Upon the advice of Riviere’s council, which included attorney Jim Griffin, he invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege to every question directed by Barbier during the punitive phase. Those questions included details regarding his parents, inheritance, net worth and relationships.
As suggested in court, Riviere and his brother inherited Marilynn Riviere‘s dynasty in September of 1998. Marilynn, the daughter of an Ohio Congressman and granddaughter of an oil magnate, was long separated from financier Joseph Riviere upon her home death at age 77.
The jury furthermore watched as Riviere pleaded the Fifth amid questions about stashing art, furniture and other luxury items at Josee’s house. He was later asked about a Merrill investment account with $6.9 million, as well as a text message to Josee mentioning $200 million.
As of this publishing, Riviere et al. are liable for a minimum of $37 million and a maximum of $45 million, pending a verdict under advisement by Judge Rivers.
Riviere’s alleged addiction to voyeuristic activities may not have abated despite the criminal and civil consequences bearing down on him. On February 27, 2024, officers of the Prosperity Police Department (PDP) were called to Dollar General following reports of Riviere photographing a teenage customer’s butt. Within the afternoon, he was listed on an incident report for unauthorized photography.
It was later revealed that S.C. Second Circut Solicitor Bill Weeks “reviewed” the Dollar General incident. As far as this publishing is concerned, he has yet to prosecute any of Riviere’s voyeurism charges from as far back as 2021.
Neither Weeks nor SLED responded to the author’s request for comment.
This story may be updated.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy award-winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. Cut from a bloodline of outlaws and lawmen alike, he was the first of his family to graduate college which was accomplished with honors. Got a story idea or news tip for Andy? Email him directly and connect with him socially across Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
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