Upskirt cam found in NY grate-owner faces felony charges
May 18, 2005
Police found a so-called "skirt cam" under a subway grate at 88th Street and Lexington Avenue Tuesday afternoon after a woman called police saying she had noticed suspicious wires protruding from the grate as she passed by.
Police closed off the street, fearing the device was a bomb, but soon realized that it was a four-inch multi-media video camera that was pointing upward and recording passers-by.
The camera was attached to an external hard-drive, making it possible for the video to be saved and then uploaded onto the Internet.
Investigators do not consider the camera to be a threat to public safety, but they do consider it a threat to individual privacy.
Some passersby in the neighborhood who spoke to NY1 said they would think twice before ever walking over a grate again.
"It's pretty awful. It really is. I think that I walk over that every single day, but she actually wears skirts more than I do," said one woman, referring to another woman with her. "I happen to have one on today. I'm so glad that I was wearing pants [the rest of the time.]"
"It's really weird that people would actually do this," said a young girl. "I think it's disgusting."
"I generally don't walk on grates," said another woman, who added that she definitely won't be walking over grates from now on.
Police sources say investigators are looking into the possibility the camera was installed by MTA workers.
The California company that manufactures the camera says it will work with police to trace the serial number back to its owner.
A few years ago, Governor George Pataki signed a law making "video voyeurism" a felony offense in New York State, meaning the person responsible for installing the camera could face up to seven years in prison if convicted. FULL STORY
What do you guys think about this? A felony in NY to film upskirts without the persons knowledge. I agree with it. If I had a daughter I wouldn't want someone filming up her skirt, without her knowledge, and making a quick buck on the internet.. what do you think?
