NORRISTOWN – A so-called “up skirting” incident has a North Coventry Township man facing judicial scrutiny and a ban from a Walmart store in West Norriton Township.
Elijah Tiller, 28, of the 800 block of East Schuylkill Road, was sentenced to two years’ probation in Montgomery County Court after pleading guilty to a misdemeanor invasion of privacy related to an August 2021 incident at the Walmart on South Trooper Road in West Norriton.
Judge Thomas M. DelRicci, who accepted a plea deal in the case, also ordered Tiller to “stay away” from the Walmart and have no contact with the female victim.
Tiller must also undergo a psychosexual evaluation and meet all recommendations for treatment, the judge said.
An investigation began Aug. 10, 2021, when West Norriton Police responded to the Walmart in the 600 block of South Trooper Road after a woman reported that a man had taken a photo of the bottom of her dress on Aug. 9, according to a criminal prosecution. complaint filed by West Norriton Detective Mark Wassmer.
The woman reported being in the aisle of aluminum pans when she nearly tripped over a man, later determined to be Tiller, “who was crouching and appearing to be looking at merchandise where the shelf was empty,” Wassmer claimed.
“(The victim) then saw his mobile phone lying on the floor so that he could view, photograph or film the bottom of her dress. She then called him a pervert and took his picture with her cell phone which she shared with police,” Wassmer wrote in the statement of the arrest.
The woman reported that on Aug. 3, she encountered the same man attempting to take a photo up her skirt at the same Walmart.
Using facial recognition software, police identified Tiller as the suspect, according to court documents.
Detectives later contacted Tiller at his residence and confronted him about the photo the victim had taken of him after the incident.
“Tiller admitted to taking two photos of the bottom of the victim’s dress. He said he needed money and met a man online who would pay him for “up skirting” videos or photos,” Wassmer claimed.
Under state law, a person commits the crime of invasion of privacy if, without that person’s knowledge and consent, they photograph, videotape, or otherwise record or personally view another person’s private parts, whether covered by clothing or not, as purpose of arousing or satisfying a person’s sexual desires.
A charge of harassment in a public place was dismissed against Tiller as part of the plea deal.