May Matthew Vollmer’s document be cleared? Sufferer, legal professional weigh in on judicial diversion

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — A Nashville man accused of secretly recording girls throughout sexual encounters has admitted guilt to 4 counts of illegal pictures, however one of many girls on the heart of the case says the battle for accountability is just not over.

Matthew Vollmer appeared in Davidson County Criminal Court on Thursday and instructed Judge Jim Todd he was responsible of 4 misdemeanor counts of illegal pictures.

Todd, nonetheless, withheld formally accepting Vollmer’s responsible plea whereas he considers whether or not Vollmer ought to obtain judicial diversion, a choice that would in the end decide whether or not the case stays on Vollmer’s prison document.

ORIGINAL COVERAGE | Unlawful, intimate movies filmed with alarm clock digicam result in a number of costs

For Erika Thomas, one of many girls who says she was secretly recorded by Vollmer however was unable to pursue prison costs due to the statute of limitations, the opportunity of diversion is tough to simply accept.

“I think in his case, it was sort of a slap in the face as a victim because there are so many of us,” Thomas instructed FOX 17 News Friday. “In our eyes, this isn’t a one-time offense.”

Hidden digicam investigation

The case started after a lady reported discovering video recordsdata on Vollmer’s pc in June 2024, in line with the factual foundation prosecutors learn into the court docket document Thursday.

Investigators stated the movies had been recorded utilizing a digicam hidden inside an alarm clock in Vollmer’s bed room and depicted intimate encounters between Vollmer and girls who stated they didn’t know they had been being recorded.

During Thursday’s listening to, prosecutors stated investigators reviewing the recordsdata discovered 12 folders labeled with girls’s names, together with one other folder labeled “hookups.”

Metro Nashville Police have beforehand stated as many as 15 girls could have been secretly recorded. Earlier within the investigation, police reported discovering greater than 25,000 sexually specific recordsdata. However, as a result of a few of the alleged recordings had been already outdoors Tennessee’s statute of limitations after they had been found, not each girl was capable of pursue prison costs.

RELATED COVERAGE | Women, lawmakers push ‘Voyeurism Victims Act’ as Tenn. man faces illegal filming costs

Vollmer was in the end charged with eight counts of illegal pictures involving 4 girls whose circumstances fell throughout the statute of limitations. All eight costs had been Class A misdemeanors.

On Thursday, he instructed the court docket he was responsible of counts one, 4, 5 and 6.

After prosecutors learn the state’s factual foundation for the costs, Todd requested Vollmer whether or not the info had been usually true and proper. Vollmer stated they had been.

Todd then made clear he was withholding acceptance of the responsible plea till the court docket determines whether or not Vollmer will obtain judicial diversion.

What would judicial diversion imply?

Under the negotiated plea settlement mentioned in court docket, Vollmer would obtain an 11-month-and-29-day sentence on every of the 4 counts, with the sentences operating concurrently. The sentence could be suspended to probation.

Vollmer would serve no jail time below the settlement. He could be required to proceed receiving remedy and could be prohibited from contacting the victims.

The unresolved query is whether or not that probation will likely be served below judicial diversion.

Judicial diversion permits sure eligible defendants who plead responsible or enter a professional plea to keep away from having a judgment of guilt instantly entered in opposition to them whereas they full court-ordered supervision.

If Vollmer receives diversion and efficiently completes his probation, he may search dismissal and expungement of the case.

MORE | Matthew Vollmer pleads responsible in hidden alarm clock digicam case

If diversion is denied, the responsible plea may as an alternative change into a conviction on his document.

Amanda Gentry, a protection legal professional who is just not concerned in Vollmer’s case, instructed FOX 17 News judicial diversion is usually misunderstood as permitting defendants to easily stroll away from prison costs.

“I think that a lot of people think that it’s a get-out-of-jail-free card and it’s a free walk out of the courthouse,” Gentry stated. “That is not the case.”

Gentry stated a defendant on diversion stays topic to probation necessities imposed by the court docket. A violation can lead prosecutors to hunt revocation of the diversion, probably ensuing within the responsible plea turning into a conviction.

“In my opinion, judicial diversion is a very strict form of accountability,” Gentry stated.

Vollmer’s legal professional, Joseph Fuson, additionally argued following Thursday’s listening to that his shopper qualifies for diversion.

“This is a case that judicial diversion is acceptable. It’s a situation where he qualifies,” Fuson stated. “And the question for the court is going to be whether he earned it. And we believe he did.”

District legal professional opposes diversion

The Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, nonetheless, tells FOX 17 News it doesn’t assist granting Vollmer judicial diversion and plans to argue in opposition to it when the problem comes earlier than the decide.

While the negotiated plea settlement establishes the proposed sentence and probation phrases, the request for judicial diversion stays for the decide to resolve.

During Thursday’s listening to, Todd instructed Vollmer there was “no guarantee” he would obtain diversion and defined that if the request is denied, the offenses would change into convictions on his document.

That distinction is critical to Thomas.

“We never anticipated that he was actually going to serve jail time for this just because it is the lowest-level misdemeanor,” Thomas stated. “But I think this is the only way that he would have this on his record so that future, potentially future women who date him know that he’s done this.”

Thomas stated she believes permitting the case to ultimately be expunged would fall wanting the accountability the victims have sought.

“If he gets diversion, then he can ultimately get this expunged,” Thomas stated. “Two, five, 10 years from now, this will be in the past.”

Case helped change Tennessee regulation

For Thomas and different girls concerned, the controversy over accountability comes after their expertise with the prison justice system helped spur a change in Tennessee regulation.

Several girls who stated Vollmer recorded them found they might not pursue prison costs as a result of the statute of limitations had already expired by the point they realized the recordings existed.

Thomas and different girls took their issues to the Tennessee General Assembly and advocated for what grew to become referred to as the Voyeurism Victims Act. The effort sought to handle circumstances during which victims could not uncover a secret recording till lengthy after it was made.

RELATED COVERAGE | Tenn. voyeurism act signed into regulation that helps victims who’re secretly recorded

The modifications got here too late to change the costs out there in opposition to Vollmer, however Thomas stated the laws means future victims may have protections she and different girls didn’t.

“I’ve said from the beginning that when we passed the law, it was not about us,” Thomas stated. “It spurred from us. It was our story.”

Thomas stated that whatever the consequence of Vollmer’s prison case, that change will stay.

“That legacy lives on,” she stated. “And future victims will be protected in the way that we should have been protected.”

Victims need their voices heard

Several victims attended Thursday’s listening to ready to provide sufferer affect statements, however these statements weren’t heard as Todd delayed a choice on diversion.

Thomas was unable to attend as a result of she was out of state for work. She stated she now hopes to take part when the court docket takes up the diversion problem.

She believes listening to from the ladies is especially necessary as a result of the prison costs characterize solely a few of those that say they had been recorded.

“For those of us like myself who were not able to press charges because of the statute of limitations, it’s an opportunity for us to have our voice heard and how this has impacted us,” Thomas stated.

She stated she needs Todd to contemplate the broader historical past of the case when deciding whether or not Vollmer deserves a possibility to ultimately clear his document.

“Think about the victims who didn’t get a voice,” Thomas stated. “Think about those of us who were failed by the criminal justice system, failed by Tennessee law, and really think about, was this a first-time offense?”

A standing listening to is scheduled for late September

Todd’s time period as a prison court docket decide ends on the finish of August, however he stated throughout Thursday’s continuing that state regulation permits him to retain the case. The events agreed that Todd would proceed overseeing it.

The September look is anticipated to be a standing listening to relatively than the ultimate determination on judicial diversion. A listening to on diversion and the decide’s final determination is anticipated to observe.

For Thomas, the responsible plea is progress, however not the tip.

“The news yesterday was good,” she stated. “It’s not the end of the story, but a step in the right direction.”