It's Called ' Upskirting' And It Could Catch Many Women Off Guard

This story will surprise you, it certainly surprised us. We've learned it is legal in the state of Oklahoma to take a picture, up a woman's skirt. <br/><br/>News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright

Thursday, January 11th 2007, 9:57 am

By: News On 6

This story will surprise you, it certainly surprised us. We've learned it is legal in the state of Oklahoma to take a picture, up a woman's skirt.

News on 6 crime reporter Lori Fullbright explains what this means and what can be done about it. It's called â€˜upskirtingâ€™, which is Peeping Tom with a twist.

Tulsa Police arrested a man for taking a picture with his cell phone, up a 16-year old girl's skirt while she was in Target last summer. He went to court last week and the judge had no choice, but to dismiss the case, because of the way Oklahoma's law is currently written.

With every advance in technology, like smaller cameras, someone can find a way to use it for bad. Some people say that's the case with tiny cameras that people can hide in the palm of their hand or put on top of their shoe and take pictures up a woman's skirt. Ricardo Ferrante was arrested for doing that, last summer. But when his attorneys researched the law, they learned its not actually illegal.

Ferranteâ€™s attorney Kevin Adams: "It's a scenario where most people agree it should be against the law, but it's not. It's up to the legislature to decide if they want to make it illegal. The state of Washington had a similar case and California also had the same issue."

Here's the issue, Oklahoma's video voyeurism law was written to stop folks from taking pictures of people who are in bathrooms, locker rooms or tanning salons, places where people have a reasonable expectation of privacy. People don't have that expectation of privacy in public places like malls or parks.

Because the law deals with where you are, rather than what the person takes a picture of â€˜upskirtingâ€™, at least in public, is legal.

Tulsa Police Sgt. Gary Stansill: â€œYou can't expect the legislature to think of every situation that might apply the law to. If something slips through the cracks, they'll go back and address it. That's their job and they do it everyday."

Prosecutors have appealed the judge's ruling to the state Court of Criminal Appeals. Some states confronted with this issue have changed their law to protect a woman's privacy under her skirt, even while she's in public.

Tulsa Police say this isn't a license for people to go taking pictures under skirts, because they'll still arrest people and can at least charge someone with a misdemeanor called outraging public decency.

If someone â€˜upskirtsâ€™ a person under 16, that is illegal and covered by Oklahoma law.

If people don't like this, they need to write and call their state lawmakers and ask them to make the law's wording, more specific.