Cops: Man shot upskirt videos of young girls at mall
The plan was to hide a camera in a Gap bag and secretly videotape up the skirts of unsuspecting girls.
The plan was to hide a camera in a Gap bag and secretly videotape up the skirts of unsuspecting girls.
The place was the Granite Run Mall in Media, Delaware County.
But when Michael Stankus, 32, a soon-to-be father from Philadelphia, executed his plan Saturday afternoon, he forgot one small detail.
"The Gap moved out of that mall a long time ago," said David Schlott, a freelance photographer who took pictures of Stankus after he was arrested.
State Police said an observant security guard noticed Stankus carrying the Gap bag about 3 p.m. in the mall. The guard then noticed a hole in the front of the bag with a camera protruding from it.
When the guard moved a little closer, he noticed the bag didn't contain the latest fashion, but rather cardboard and duct tape holding the camera in place.
"The defendant was then observed maneuvering the bag to look up the skirt of a young girl (under 18) at the Auntie Anne's pretzel place," the state police said in a statement.
The guard grabbed the bag and Stankus, who tried to flee, but the guard held on until police arrived. Police said Stankus tried to hide the camera in the mulch of a planter.
State police said Stankus admitted to positioning the camera to look up the girl's skirt, along with three others. He also admitted to taking pictures of the girls with his iPhone.
No one answered at Stankus' parents' home in Media. According to his Facebook page, Stankus is engaged and expecting a baby girl any day now.
Stankus is charged with invasion of privacy, possessing instruments of crime, tampering with or fabricating physical evidence and persistent disorderly conduct. He is being held on $200,000 bail.
A spokesman for the Granite Run Mall commended the security guard for his quick action.