Man charged with taking pictures under woman’s dress
By Tracy Ouellette
Staff Writer
During a family outing to the grocery story Aug. 19, a Waterford man was allegedly caught using his cell phone to take photographs under the skirt of a female shopper.
According to the criminal complaint filed in Racine County Circuit Court:
Matthew J. Stegall, 26, was shopping with family members at the Waterford Pick ’n Save at about 9:30 a.m. Aug. 19 when he felt compelled to take the photos.
“I saw the lady and something just took over and I wasn’t thinking,” Stegall reportedly told police in a Sept. 1 interview.
Store security footage reviewed by police shows Stegall following a female shopper at about 9:40 a.m. down the “Over the Counter” aisle with his cell phone in his left hand. In the video, Stegall appears to be looking around as he follows the female shopper.
The video then shows Stegall following the shopper three minutes later down another aisle.
According to the complaint, Stegall does not appear to be shopping at this time, but instead is following the victim closely and looking around nervously.
Stegall is next seen shopping in produce with his family.
At about 9:53 a.m., security footage shows the victim exiting the store in pursuit of Stegall, with both walking at a fast pace.
They then re-enter the store, with the victim clearly upset at Stegall, who is seen holding his phone to his ear.
The victim told police that she saw Stegall’s arm extended under the bottom of her dress, with his cell phone in his hand and the camera lens on the phone facing up her dress.
Officers reviewed the store’s surveillance camera footage the following day and interviewed Stegall on Sept. 1.
During the interview, Stegall admitted he had taken inappropriate pictures of the victim at Pick ’n Save. He blamed a “porn addiction” and said he needed help. Stegall also admitted to taking photos like this at local businesses more than five times.
Stegall told police taking the photos gave him a “high” and he would later delete the pictures when he came down from his high.
Stegall is facing up to three years and six months in prison and/or $10,000 in fines if he is convicted of the felony charge of capturing an image of nudity without consent. He is scheduled to appear in Racine County Court on Oct. 18.
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