A man suspected of brazenly taking an upskirt photo of a woman in a Richmond Hill grocery store is wanted by York Regional Police.

Investigators say the woman was inside a Yonge St.-Meadowview Ave. grocery story on Aug. 16 when she noticed a man crouched down beside her, seemingly browsing the same shelf.

“The victim felt something on the inside of her leg,” police said Monday. “When she turned to look, she saw the man moving his hand away from her, with a mobile phone in his hand.”

Police have released video footage of the encounter, showing the man crouch down while the woman has her back to him. Armed with what appears to be a cellphone, he seems to extend his hand between the woman’s legs, moving away when she appears to flinch and turn around.

“I think he takes the photo and as he’s bringing his hand back he grazes her leg and that causes her to flinch,” Const. Andy Pattenden alleged.

The woman realized something was wrong and reported the incident to police, he added.

“I don’t think she was quite aware of what happened but she knew something happened.”

Police retrieved the video footage the next day. Cops say the store is an Asian grocery store called Seasons Foodmart.

“Someone’s going to know who he is,” Pattenden said.

The woman is “supportive” of releasing the footage in order to figure out who the man is, he added.

“It’s also a bit of a safety warning, that unfortunately sometimes these things can happen anywhere at any time.”

The man is described as white, 25 to 35 years old, and about 150 pounds with red hair. He was last seen wearing a blue-and-white Hartford Whalers hat, blue jeans, a green-and-white checkered shirt, and black and white running shoes.

“It’s an unusual hat, there wouldn’t be too many people wandering around with that,” Pattenden noted.

Anyone with information can call police at 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7241 or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.

maryam.shah@sunmedia.ca