Man Takes ‘Upskirt’ Photos of Teen at Target, Didn’t Commit Crime

It wasn’t illegal for a 61-year-old man in Oregon to take secret photos up a 13-year-old’s skirt in the aisle at Target, reports The Guardian.

The ruling judge Eric Butterfield said Patrick Buono’s actions were “lewd and appalling” but not illegal.

Oregon’s privacy law bans clandestine photography in bathrooms, locker rooms, dressing rooms and tanning booths.

Buono’s defense lawyer, Mark Lawrence, reportedly argued that Buono didn’t violate the laws because the Target aisle was in public, and because such “upskirtings” can happen on accident in public places.

“These things are not only seen but video-recorded,” Lawrence said. “It’s incumbent on us as citizens to cover up whatever we don’t want filmed in public places.”

The prosecutor, deputy district attorney Paul Maloney, retorted by saying, “Sure, she’s in a public place. But she had an expectation of privacy that a deviant isn’t going to stick a camera up her skirt and capture private images of her body,” as quoted by The Guardian.

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