The Brief
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A man is in Manatee County Jail on Thursday after being charged with over two dozen counts related to video voyeurism, stalking, and sexual cyber harassment.
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The man, Aaron Burton, had previously served time for recording his wife, Autumn Burton, in the bathroom and bedroom of their home and sharing them with a million-plus people online.
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Autumn Burton is now advocating for stricter sentences in these cases, so fewer repeat offenses like this happen in the future.
PALMETTO Fla. – A Florida man is behind bars facing two dozen charges related to secretly recording his wife and sharing her images with strangers online.
He’s already served time in prison for it once, and now his estranged wife is sharing her story, hoping it can help someone else.
Investigators with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrested the estranged husband on Valentine’s Day.
The backstory
Aaron Burton is in the Manatee County Jail, facing more than two dozen charges related to video voyeurism, stalking, and sexual cyber harassment.
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Court records show the case started in November 2024, when the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office first received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding an adult trying to entice a child for sexual acts online.
Investigators determined it was Aaron Burton who was using photos of his estranged wife to communicate with a 15-year-old child through a video game.
“I cannot stress enough that you have to advocate for yourself,” said Autumn Burton, his estranged wife.
Dig deeper
Aaron Burton had recently been released from prison after serving time for secretly recording Autumn Burton when they lived in Lake County.
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He had hidden cameras in both the bedroom and bathroom of their home.
Autumn Burton discovered he had created a web of dozens of fake profiles, using her intimate images, and posted photos of her on dozens of different sites.
“I know one website alone had 1.1 million views,” said Autumn Burton. “You don’t anticipate the person you’re married to, the person you have a child with, to install a camera in a bathroom and make profiles and talk to men as if they were you to solicit them.”
There’s no telling how many people have seen the images of Autumn Burton, all of them violating her privacy.
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And it didn’t just stay online.
Strange men showed up at her home and got her real phone number.
“At one point, he offered me up as payment to someone,” Autumn Burton said.
In 2023, Aaron Burton was charged with 21 counts of video voyeurism and 16 counts of sexual cyber harassment but was only sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
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According to court records, he started right back at it soon after his release, which led to the new charges he now faces in Manatee County.
Big picture view
Autumn Burton said she is advocating for stricter sentences in these cases the first time around.
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“Just because I’m not black and blue from him doesn’t stop it from being domestic abuse. I feel that if we were harsher on first-time offenders for certain offenses like these, maybe we wouldn’t have repeat offenders,” Autumn Burton said.
Autumn Burton said people made threats on her life, and she believes the Manatee County Investigation has saved her life now that Aaron Burton is behind bars again.
Aaron Burton faces charges of violating probation as well.
The Source
FOX 13’s Genevieve Curtis collected the information in this story.
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