Civil suit filed against convicted voyeur Steven Powell

The family of the two little girls secretly photographed
by Steven Powell is filing a civil lawsuit this week
citing invasion of privacy and voyeurism.

Powell was convicted in criminal court of voyeurism for
photographing and video taping the girls who lived next
door as they undressed in their own bathroom. Powell was
sentenced to 30-months in jail.

Seattle attorney Ann Bremner says Powell’s house is
underwater, but they are still hoping for a judgement big
enough that they can claim the deed.

“There’s a real interest in his not being in that
community. The real interest comes from a lot of
different people because I think it is believed widely
that he’ll offend again,” says Bremner.

Powell was served with papers giving him notice of the
lawsuit at his sentencing hearing. Bremner says they
decided to do that before filing with the court because
there was some concern he might be set free at that
hearing.

The victims’ family is asking for compensation for the
girls’ counseling costs and emotional distress. They are
also seeking no contact orders, possibly orders that would
last for their entire lifetimes.

Powell was arrested last September after investigators
searching his home for evidence in the disappearance of
his daughter-in-law, Susan Powell, came across computer
disks with what they described as thousands of images of
women and girls who seemed unaware they were being
photographed.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.