Man Filmed Up Women's Skirts at Market: Cops
Police said the suspect used a shopping basket to help him film underneath women's skirts at Whole Foods.
Friday, Aug 3, 2012 | Updated 2:50 PM EDT
Giovanni Geronilla was accused of using his cell phone camera to film up women's skirts.
Editorial Note: An earlier version of this story reported that Giovanni Geronilla was an employee of Whole Foods. He is not.
A Hartford man has been arrested, accused of using his cell phone camera to secretly photograph underneath women's skirts at Whole Foods market in West Hartford, officials said.
Police said Giovanni Geronilla, 34, of 24 Park Place in Hartford, placed his cell phone in a shopping basket at the Whole Foods on Raymond Road in West Hartford on Thursday and either held it or slid it under the victim's skirt.
A Whole Foods employee recognized Geronilla from a previous encounter, noticed that he was getting suspiciously close to customers and reported it to store management, who called police, police said.
Police said the incident happened between 2:45 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. and there were several video clips on his cell phone of six women who were wearing dresses or skirts. In two instances, the victims had a child with them.
Geronilla was charged with six counts of second-degree breach of peace.
"Whole Foods Market takes the safely and privacy of our shoppers very seriously, which is why the authorities were called immediately after a team member witnessed the alleged incident and alerted store leadership. We are fully cooperating with the police as they continue their investigation," Whole Foods said in a statement.
Geronilla was released on $75,000 bond and is expected to appear in court on Aug. 16.
Authorities are asking anyone who feels they could be a victim to come forward and call West Hartford police at 860-523-2002 extension 8348.
