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In a significant development, Aiken property owner Rhett Riviere was officially admitted into the state corrections system on Wednesday, March 11th. This follows his guilty plea in February 2026 to three counts of first-offense voyeurism, specifically for violations involving unlawful viewing, photographing, recording, or filming.
The South Carolina Department of Corrections confirmed that the 72-year-old Riviere was processed at the Kirkland Reception and Evaluation Center, located at 4344 Broad River Road in Columbia, SC. He has been sentenced to a three-year term of incarceration.
Following the completion of his prison sentence, Riviere will be subject to a three-year probation period, as part of his plea agreement.
Riviere, known in Aiken as a business and property owner, faced allegations related to his rental activities through Airbnb, Inc. He was accused of secretly recording guests who stayed in the properties he owned and rented out.
The case began in June 2021, when agents from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division arrested Riviere. His arrest was linked to accusations of clandestine video recordings taken without the consent of individuals staying at his rental properties.
The secret recordings, according to warrants filed at the time, took place in May 2019 while the unsuspected victim was staying in the bedroom of a rental house at 115 3rd Avenue in Aiken owned by Riviere.
The SLED investigation was originally requested by the Aiken Department of Public Safety.
At the time, Riviere, then in his 60s, was charged with one count of Voyeurism.
Then, in July 2022, Riviere had additional charges added after confessing to knowingly recording two people without their knowledge or consent while they were in the bathroom and/or bedroom of a rental space. These new allegations were tied to incidents dating all the way back to April and June of 2001, according to investigators.