Connecticut socialite walks free after serving less than half her sentence for ... trends now
A Connecticut socialite who was imprisoned for secretly recording three minors in her $10million mansion is now walking free.
Hadley Palmer, 54, was sentenced in November to one year in jail and 20 years probation after pleading guilty to three counts of voyeurism and risk of injury to a minor.
But she has since entered a transitional supervision program and was granted early release, officials from the state Department of Corrections told the Daily Beast.
Under the program, which is similar to parole, inmates with sentences of two years or less can serve the remainder of their sentences in a halfway house or with a sponsor.
As a result, Palmer has served less than half of her one-year sentence behind bars, between her 90-day prison stint last spring and the 71 days she completed this winter.
Hadley Palmer, 54, of Belle Haven, was sentenced to one year in prison, 10 years on the sex offenders registry and 20 years probation after pleading guilty in January
But she had served less than half of her sentence behind bars at the York Correctional Institute (pictured)
Palmer, a mother-of-four, was arrested in October 2021 on charges including employing a minor in an obscene performance and second-degree child pornography.
Greenwich police claimed in charging documents that she filmed three minors without their knowledge at her $10million mansion in Belle Haven for her own sexual gratification in 2017 and 2018, noting that one of the victims was 15 or younger.
Not much was revealed about the allegations made against Palmer, as she immediately filed for what is called 'accelerated rehabilitation' — a type of probation program whereby defendants charged with minor crimes can have their file sealed.
It is a program reserved for first-time offenders. It can be applied to defendants charged with Class C felonies, but only with 'good cause'.
Palmer was granted it and the file was therefore kept secret.
Authorities had said more serious charges were also on the table but she struck a plea deal in January 2022, that saw her convicted on only three counts of voyeurism and one count of risk or injury to a minor.
Higher charges of employing a minor in an obscene performance and possession of child pornography were dropped under the deal, in which the hedge fund manager's daughter pleaded guilty to 'knowingly photographing, filming and recording three individuals' in 2017 and 2018 without their knowledge.
As part of that plea deal, she agreed to serve an initial term of 90 days at the York Correctional Facility, the state's only facility for female prisoners before her November sentencing.
Palmer pleaded guilty to three counts of voyeurism and risk of injury to a minor
Authorities said she had filmed three minors naked or unclothed at her $10million water-front home (pictured)
At her sentencing hearing in November, State's Attorney Paul Fereneck revealed she recorded the victims unclothed, and at times fully naked at her waterfront home, and shared the footage with an unnamed third-party.
Palmer had faced up to five years behind bars, but Stamford Superior Court Judge John Blawie — who sealed her case to protect the victims — ordered her to serve just one year in prison with 20 years probation.
She would also be required to register as a sex offender for the next 10 years.
Palmer's attorney, Michael Meehan, who called the mom-of-four 'very caring [and] loving,' said the sentencing was fair and that she was 'taking responsibility for her actions.'
The Stamford Advocate later revealed that the victims in the case had requested Palmer serve
