Man Accused of Secretly Taking 2,100 Upskirt Videos, Photos

Updated 8:03 a.m. Friday.

A Valley Center man was behind bars Thursday for allegedly using his cell phone to shoot thousands of photos and video snippets up unsuspecting girls' and women's skirts at retail shops throughout Escondido, and a Rancho Bernardo tire shop.

Detectives arrested Julio Cesar Garcia, 22, at his home early Wednesday evening, Lt. Craig Carter said.

Garcia is set to be arraigned Friday afternoon.

Garcia's iPhone allegedly contained about 2,100 images surreptitiously taken up the skirts and dresses of more than 100  girls and women ranging in age from about 15 to 35, according to Carter.

Investigators have identified four alleged victims, and they are willing to testify against the suspect, the lieutenant said.

The crimes allegedly took place at numerous businesses over about a year-long period, beginning in September 2010. One of the businesses included a Rancho Bernardo tire shop where Garcia used to work, according to The San Diego Union-Tribune. Many of the victims were waiting in sales lines when the images were taken.

It took detectives months to identify Garcia, who works at a tire store in Escondido, as the suspected perpetrator. Surveillance video of him and his vehicle helped police eventually track him down, according to Carter.

"This was not an easy one by any stretch of the imagination,'' the lieutenant said. "This was definitely a needle in a haystack.''

Garcia was booked into Vista Jail on two dozen counts of secretly filming a person and other related charges. He was being held on $200,000 bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Friday.

-City News Service