SPD: Man took 170-plus upskirt videos of women in Seattle One woman returning to work from lunch felt a tap on her leg and spotted a man pulling a phone from beneath her skirt, reports say

Prosecutors say a 32-year-old man took more than 170 videos of women without their consent last year. He is now charged with two counts of first-degree voyeurism.

Prosecutors say a 32-year-old man took more than 170 videos of women without their consent last year. He is now charged with two counts of first-degree voyeurism. Photo: Vstock LLC/Getty Images/Tetra Images RF Photo: Vstock LLC/Getty Images/Tetra Images RF Image 1 of / 92 Caption Close SPD: Man took 170-plus upskirt videos of women in Seattle 1 / 92 Back to Gallery

When a woman returned to work from lunch at the Century Square Building in downtown Seattle on afternoon in October 2017, she felt a tap on her leg while she rode the escalator, police reports say.

She didn't think much of it, until the second tap, she said, when she looked behind her to see a man pulling a cell phone out from beneath her skirt.

A security guard watching the incident followed as the man headed to the escalator going downstairs and left the building. Later, the woman reported the matter to the building's security office, where officers called 911, court records say.

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Prosecutors believe Lawrence Edward Clarke, 32, was the man attempting to record upskirt footage that day. They connected him to another similar incident at Target two months later and claim that, according to a search of Clarke's cell phones, he has taken about 174 recordings or attempted recordings up women's skirts in the two months between Oct. 17 and Dec. 21, 2017.

Police arrested him April 23 for investigation of the felony charges and he was released on a set of conditions the next day. Clarke is now charged with two counts of first-degree voyeurism, according to documents filed Aug. 31.

Tipsters identified Clarke after Washington's Most Wanted sought information on the upskirt videographer, according to Seattle police reports. He was initially arrested after the Target incident Dec. 21 on a misdemeanor, which prompted the seizure of two cell phones. He allegedly admitted to filming up a woman's skirt and claimed it was "not illegal because he was in a public space."

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Among the more than 170 videos investigators reviewed included evidence of Clarke stalking women for blocks on the street in an effort to film their faces and bodies, often coming within inches of them while recording, according to the incident report. He would even pretend to conduct a conversation with a person while standing next to a victim to record her face and body.

In one instance at a story, he placed his phone in a grocery basket, camera lens facing up, and set the basket on the ground between a woman's legs while he pretended to shop.

Detectives since requested that the Seattle Municipal Court drop its charge and referred the case to King County prosecutors for felony charges.

SeattlePI reporter Lynsi Burton can be reached at 206-448-8381 or lynsiburton@seattlepi.com. Follow her on Twitter at @LynsiBurton_PI. Find more from Lynsi here.