The L.A. County District Attorney’s Office filed one misdemeanor count Monday against a man accused by local law enforcement officials of filming more than a dozen women surreptitiously, which was reported after an incident at the Valencia Town Center over the summer.
Stephen Michael Martin, 35, was charged with one count of violating California Penal Code section 647(j)(2), the filming of another’s body or undergarments without their consent, also referred to as “upskirting” or “downblousing.”
Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff’s Station deputies arrested Martin in January, following up on an incident that had been reported over the summer, according to a spokeswoman for the station.
“It was based on an incident that was reported to us last July by the local mall,” said Shirley Miller, referring to the Valencia Town Center. “This individual, allegedly he had a camera on his foot, on the top of his shoe, and he was noticed following women and girls on the escalator and positioning his foot.”
After months of investigation, station officials recommended a charge of 311.11, a felony, which involves the production of obscene material involving a minor.
A detective familiar with the investigation indicated the evidence showed multiple instances of the recording that was described. The source indicated there were 16 or 17 potential victims, but it was difficult to identify the people being filmed due to the perspective of the footage.
There was one identified victim based on the footage and the incident reported, who is named in the complaint, but it could be argued for additional victims, according to the source.
“The Stephen Martin case was filed (Monday),” according to an email Tuesday from Pamela Johnson, spokeswoman for the D.A.’s Office. “His pretrial conference is set for (Friday), Department 3 of the Santa Clarita Courthouse.”
L.A. County Sheriff’s Department custody records available online indicate that Martin was released from custody on $50,000 bail four hours after his arrest and given an April 13 date to return to court at the Santa Clarita Courthouse. That was the date the LASD filing of charges was due, which was when the D.A.’s Office filed the complaint.
