Bellefontaine Neighbors man accused of filming up woman's skirt as she shopped in St. Charles | MO State News | lincolnnewsnow.com

View life in St. Louis through the Post-Dispatch photographers' lenses. Edited by Jenna Jones.

ST. CHARLES COUNTY — A St. Louis County man is accused of using his cellphone to record up a woman’s skirt while she was shopping in St. Charles, making him the third man this year to be charged with privacy invasion in this county.

William Bronaugh, 26, of Bellefontaine Neighbors, was arrested in June for allegedly filming up a woman’s skirt last year. He was charged last week following a months-long investigation by the St. Charles City Police Department.

Bronaugh told police he previously recorded up the skirts of about 20 women at multiple stores across St. Charles, investigators said. In this latest case, investigators say Bronaugh was in a Mexico Road department store in St. Charles on Oct. 14, 2023, when he started following two young women who were shopping.

“It really creeped out one of the women, and she stopped shopping to watch him from across the store,” said St. Charles City Police Department spokesperson Lt. Susan Shields. “She saw him put his phone down on the ground to try and film up her friend’s skirt.”

The woman’s friend called 911 and told police he was wearing a jacket with a car dealership logo on the chest, Shields said. She also provided a physical description of the man.

St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Joe McCulloch charged Kevin Clayton, 32, of O’Fallon, in June for invasion of privacy after he was caught filming up the skirts of two women who were shopping at an O’Fallon department store.

Clayton, who is suspected of illegally filming up the skirts of hundreds of women as they were shopping in the St. Louis area, pleaded guilty on Oct. 1 in St. Charles County and is set to be sentenced next month.

In September, McCulloch charged Anthony Pagano, 35, of St. Peters, for filming up the skirt of a woman while she was shopping at a St. Peters’ store in September. The case is ongoing, according to court records.

McCulloch also filed charges against Gabriel Wood, of rural Franklin County, who was scaling the walls of changing rooms to watch as women were changing clothes in various department stores in St. Charles County. Wood, who ultimately pleaded guilty, was sentenced in September to 14 months in state prison.

Police say these cases may be only the tip of the iceberg.

“For everyone that is caught, for everyone that is discovered, we know that there are likely just as many, if not more, that go undiscovered,” Shields told the Post-Dispatch. Since 2021, prosecutors have charged eight people with invasion of privacy cases where individuals were filmed while shopping.

“Women — and men — need to be aware of their surroundings. We need to be looking up and aware of what is going on around us, and not looking down at our phone,” Shields said.

During his interview with police, Bronaugh reportedly told police that his “lack of judgment” caused him to film up the woman’s skirt. He also told police he always deleted the videos after watching them. Shields said a forensic search of Bronaugh’s electronic devices confirmed that no other videos were on his phone.

Officials say they do not believe that Bronaugh uploaded the videos to any third-party websites.

Police officials said they believe St. Charles County is still a safe place to shop. But, they said, people should watch for strange behavior in public places and speak up if they see anything. McColloch added that law enforcement takes such cases seriously.

“This kind of violation of a woman’s privacy will not be tolerated,” McCulloch said. “These types of cases will be dealt with swiftly and harshly.”

Ethan Colbert

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Originally published on stltoday.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.

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