Multimillionaire Equestrian Sentenced to Three Years in Voyeurism Case

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by ANDREW FANCHER

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A prominent South Carolina equestrian was sentenced to three years in prison after admitting he secretly recorded tenants across numerous rental properties using an extensive hidden-camera network he maintained for at least 20 years.

Rhett “Tiger” Riviere, 72, appeared in a beige suit and leather loafers for his sentencing on February 17, 2026 before Circuit Court Judge Courtney C. Pope. Flanked by two high-powered defense attorneys, he offered his most substantive public comment since the case began six years ago. 

He further apologized to Heather and Gabriel Crespo, two of the three tenants he admitted to surreptitiously recording through hidden cameras installed in his rental properties.

“I stand here, your honor, to take responsibility for all the actions that brought me here and brought us all here today,” Riviere said in a soft, raspy voice. “I apologize to the Crespos, to my family, friends, anybody else that’s been impacted in any way.”

Riviere, a descendant of a prominent Aiken Winter Colony family, is now scheduled to report to the Aiken County Detention Center on March 2, 2026 to begin serving a three-year sentence on two voyeurism charges. A third charge was suspended to three years of probation.

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He was further ordered to pay $4,445 in restitution to the Crespos.

In 2024, FITSNews exclusively reported on a jury verdict awarding the Crespos more than $45 million in civil damages related to the hidden-camera recordings.

“Mr. Riviere, I wish you luck,” Pope said after imposing the sentence. “I am hopeful that this will allow everyone involved some amount of closure to move forward.”

The sentence, however, contrasts with the scope of the state’s multi-year investigation into Riviere. Court filings describe the probe as uncovering nearly four terabytes of digital evidence, including thousands of recordings of men, women and children in various stages of undress.

According to S.C. Second Circuit Solicitor Bill Weeks, the case began in August 2019 when Riviere’s then-girlfriend discovered two small SD cards containing nude images of “at least one” woman. Weeks said the SD cards were subsequently turned over to the Aiken Department of Public Safety.

At the time, Riviere served as co-founder of the Aiken Volunteer Mounted Unit, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit formed in partnership with ADPS. Then as now, the organization uses horses as a way to build positive relationships between law enforcement and the community.

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Riviere’s role within the organization soon ended as the investigation widened. 

Within days of receiving the SD cards, ADPS conflicted the case to agents with the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division (SLED), which subsequently executed at least one search warrant at a property owned by Riviere.

Court filings stated that more than 40 electronic devices were seized during the early stages of the investigation, resulting in the recovery of approximately 3.7 terabytes of digital data, including more than 21,000 videos dating back at least 20 years.

According to attorneys who later represented the Crespos in civil litigation, the recordings included men, women and children in various stages of undress inside multiple rental properties Riviere listed on platforms such as Airbnb.

During his remarks at sentencing, Weeks added that other hidden recordings were captured “on a boat,” though he did not specify which vessel. Civil filings referenced yachts owned by Riviere that were previously docked in Charleston and Beaufort.

Weeks further stated that agents “have no idea” where some of the other recordings were taken.

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Despite state agents being in possession of these recordings as early as 2019, nearly two years passed before Riviere was arrested. Come June 2021, Riviere was charged with a single count of first-offense voyeurism.

According to a probable cause affidavit, that charge stemmed from the surreptitious recording of a woman inside a bedroom at his Stirrup Cottage property at 115 Third Avenue in Aiken County.

“I had no idea I would be secretly recorded dressing and undressing and watched by Lord knows who,” the woman wrote in a victim impact statement read by Greenville attorney Wes Few. “I had no idea that someone had decided that my body, my vulnerability and my personal moments were theirs to secretly record and share.”

It would take more than a year after that first voyeurism charge for Riviere to face additional charges. In July 2022, he was charged again — this time in connection with recordings involving Heather and Gabriel Crespo that dated back to 2001 at a separate cottage.

During Riviere’s sentencing, Heather Crespo recounted the details of their victimization, stating she had just married Gabriel Crespo when they rented the cottage from Riviere and his then-wife. She said they were recorded for “months.”

“This was planned. This was intentional,” a tearful Heather Crespo said. “He then proceeded to take these videos and make it into a movie, which he labeled ‘Gabrielle and Heather,’ hence how SLED was able to figure out who we were and contact us.”

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She told the court her life changed forever after SLED contacted her in connection with the case.

“I sat in a room and had to watch videos of myself in the most intimate acts of a newly married couple; of me going to the bathroom,” she said. “I have lost all trust and safety where I should have been the most safe… I lost complete human dignity.”

Gabriel Crespo echoed his former wife’s sentiments during sentencing, describing a once-friendly relationship with Riviere that has since turned to disgust and anger.

“What he has done to us,” Gabriel Crespo said, speaking in his second language of English, “it blows my mind that he’s still sitting there. He’s not in jail already? This has been a long time waiting for us to be here today… It’s unreal what’s going on in this court.”

Revisiting concerns he first raised during the civil trial, Gabriel Crespo again spoke about his daughter, who he said had been exposed to Riviere as an adolescent.

“This is just not right,” he said through tears. “This guy needs to go away.”

In addition to prison and probation, Riviere must register as a sex offender and comply with South Carolina’s sex offender probation conditions.

Write to Andrew Fancher at andy@fitsnews.com.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Andrew Fancher is a Lone Star Emmy Award–winning journalist from Dallas, Texas. He joined FITSNews in 2023 after leaving an NBC affiliate, where he served as on-air talent. His reporting focuses on public corruption in South Carolina, with an emphasis on law enforcement misconduct and abuse of power.

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