BROOKINGS – A woman called authorities after she confronted a man for allegedly upskirting her Thursday, according to the Brookings Police.
“Upskirting is the practice of surreptitiously photographing underneath a female's dress or skirt,” according to definitions.uslegal.com online.
The incident was reported about 12:40 p.m. Thursday while the woman was at a business in the 2200 block of Sixth Street, according to Lt. Derrick Powers.
“A male individual was ... using a cell phone to attempt to take photos underneath her clothing without her knowledge,” he said. “She confronted the male after observing this. He subsequently fled the business,” Powers said.
The woman reported the incident to police. The man is described only as a white male.
“I don’t have a very good description right now,” Powers said, adding the incident remains under investigation.
Upskirting is being reported more across the globe, but it can be difficult for a victim to know it’s happening.
“This is nothing of her fault,” Powers said. “People of this sort (who) are trying to do this, they’re gonna find a way to take that opportunity.
“Oftentimes they try to do it without detection. The only reason why she realized this ... she felt the phone bump her,” he said.
“It’s hard to say what you can do to prevent (it),” Powers said. “Be aware of your surroundings. If someone is getting close to you and you feel uncomfortable, call in, report it if there’s something odd going on. If you think something like this has happened, certainly report it right away.”
