Philip Joseph DeSena, a three-time "Jeopardy!" champion, has pleaded guilty to two felony counts of secret peeping. DeSena was sentenced to a 60-month probationary term on Monday.
He was arrested in December 2025 in Maple, North Carolina, after authorities found he had installed cameras in a victim's bathroom and bedroom at a rental property in Corolla. The indictment stated that DeSena "unlawfully, willfully, and feloniously" placed a device capable of capturing images with the intent to record another person without their consent.
The victim reported finding two black USB wall chargers containing hidden cameras in the rental home on October 10, 2025, while visiting for a wedding, according to prosecutors. DeSena surrendered to authorities on December 1, 2025, and was released on $5,000 bail two days later.
DeSena first appeared on "Jeopardy!" on November 11, 2024, winning that episode and the following one. He lost his third game on November 13, 2024, but later returned in January 2025 for the Champions Wildcard tournament, where he reached the semifinals.
This case follows a separate incident in March 2025, where Winston Nguyen, another former "Jeopardy!" winner, was sentenced to seven years in prison for offenses related to soliciting lewd images from students. Nguyen, who won "Jeopardy!" in 2014, had previously been convicted of fraud charges in 2020.