Upskirt Video Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

A Valley Center man accused of using his cell phone to shoot thousands of still photos and video snippets up unsuspecting girls' and women's skirts at retail shops throughout Escondido pleaded not guilty Friday to 19 misdemeanor sex crime charges.

Julio Cesar Garcia, 22, was ordered held on $200,000 bail.

Garcia's iPhone allegedly contained about 2,100 images—about 470 videos and the rest still images—surreptitiously taken up the skirts and dresses of more than 100 girls and women ranging in age from about 15 to 35, said Deputy District Attorney Tracy Prior. There are four named victims so far, she said.

The prosecutor called Garcia's alleged conduct "extremely disturbing."

Garcia took photos of two children, one at a bus stop in Escondido and another at a tire shop in Rancho Bernardo where he worked, the prosecutor alleged. []

The crimes allegedly took place at numerous businesses over about a yearlong period, beginning in October 2010. Many of the victims were waiting in sales lines and many were walking with male companions when the images were taken, according to the prosecutor.

It took detectives months to identify Garcia as the suspected perpetrator. Surveillance video of him and his vehicle helped police eventually track him down, authorities said.

Garcia also faces felony DUI charges for allegedly driving over a center divider and crashing his vehicle head-on into another car, injuring four people, Prior said.

In each case, the defendant faces 10 years in prison if convicted, the prosecutor said.

Vista Judge Marshall Hockett set a readiness conference for Nov. 15 and a preliminary hearing for Nov. 17.

-City News Service