Man pleads not guilty to taking photos up skirt

By Leslie Fulbright
Seattle Times Eastside bureau

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A 20-year-old Sammamish man has pleaded not guilty to charges of felony voyeurism, in connection with a summer visit to Safeway during which he is accused of using a cellphone camera to take photos up a woman's skirt.

Jack Vu is believed to be the first person charged in King County for using a cellphone to take photos for sexual gratification, said Prosecuting Attorney's Office spokesman Dan Donohoe.

If convicted, he faces up to a year in jail, the result of a bill passed by the state earlier this year that banned up-skirt photography in public places and made the act a felony.

Police say Vu took the photos July 10 of a woman shopping with her baby at the store in the 600 block of 228th Avenue Northeast.

The woman noticed the man with a cellular phone in his hand looking at food on the shelf and following her while she shopped, she later told police. Another customer stopped the woman and told her she thought the man was taking pictures up her skirt.

The witness said she saw the man crouching in the aisle with a silver object with an antenna positioned right underneath the other woman's skirt, according to charging papers. Then she saw him stand up and look at the images and she knew it was a camera phone.

The women talked to the store manager after they saw the suspect leave and go to a nearby sandwich shop. Detectives later went to the shop and talked to Vu, a manager, and asked if he had a camera phone.

According to charging papers, Vu said yes and then admitted he went to the store to get change and took five to eight photos of a lady in a blue flowered dress. He said he used his camera to take pictures of her panties, according to detectives. According to the charging papers, he said he had done similar things in the past and then downloaded them on his home computer.

He was arrested but wasn't charged until Dec. 1, when the investigation was complete.

Vu was taken into custody but posted $25,000 bail and was released. His next court date is Dec. 18.

With camera phones becoming more popular, concerns about them are on the rise. The phones don't make noise, are relatively small and can take pictures with the flip top open or closed.

Many see them as a threat to privacy because photos can be posted on the Internet without consent. In some places where people undress, such as health-club locker rooms, strip clubs and hospitals, they are being banned.

Leslie Fulbright: 206-515-5637 or lfulbright@seattletimes.com

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