A state appeals court has upheld the conviction of a Grafton man caught taking an “upskirt” photo of a woman.
31-year-old Jesse Schmucker was convicted on misdemeanor charges of attempting to capture nudity and disorderly conduct, after he was caught on a grocery store security camera using a cell phone to take a picture under a woman’s skirt.
Schmucker was given nine months in jail, but appealed the verdict. He argued that the woman was not partially nude because she was wearing underwear, and also had no expectation of privacy because she was in a public place. The Second District Court of Appeals rejected those claims, with Judge Lisa Neubauer writing that the fact that the woman wore underwear did not negate Schmucker’s intent to commit a crime. She also noted that the victim did have an expectation of privacy that the area under her skirt would not be photographed.
The case was one of the examples cited by state Representative Jim Ott (R-Mequon), who introduced legislation earlier this session that would make “upskirting” a felony. The bill passed in the Assembly, but has stalled in the Senate.