Police hunt for suspected serial 'upskirt' video recorder

Police in Seattle are hunting for a man they accuse of taking 'upskirt' videos of a woman in Seattle.

The woman contacted police after she became suspicious of a man standing close behind on her the escalator when she was heading to her office.

She said she noticed he was holding a phone with the light facing up, suggesting he was recording a video.

She then confronted the man on the escalator before a security guard escorted him out of the building.

The woman then called 911 but the suspect has not been found.

Retired detective Myrle Carner told Q13 Fox: "She did the exact right thing when she got off the top of the escalator. She immediately went to get help.

"There's a very good chance he's done this in other commercial buildings. He certainly isn't panicked about it even though she confronted him, he acted like nothing's going on, which tells me he's done it before and probably will again."

The incident occurred as an investigation from IBTimes UK found there has been a rise of upskirt videos being posted on porn websites, filmed without the victim's knowledge.

Figures obtained by IBTimes UK from British Transport Police show it recorded 31 upskirting crimes in 2014. This rose to 44 in 2014, before nearly doubling to 71 in 2016.

Detective Chief Inspector Darren Malpas said, "Though it is clearly a concern that so many people are affected by this type of crime, it is pleasing that previously reluctant victims of sexual offences now have the confidence to report this to us."

In September 2017, justice secretary David Lidington said the government is considering making upskirting a crime under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, including forcing perpetrators to sign the sex offenders register.