A Nashua, New Hampshire man was arrested after allegedly taking upskirt pictures at the Natick Mall, police say.
A mall security officer told police that two teenage girls had reported a suspicious man in a purple shirt by the Starbucks store in the mall on Wednesday, and later pointed out the man to the officer.
The girls told mall security the man, identified as 42-year-old Nashua native Matthew White, had allegedly gotten close to them while holding an electronic device below his waist.
Mall security then followed White through the mall to the parking garage, as a Natick Police officer patrolling the area then heard about security pursuing the suspect.
The Natick Police officer responded to the scene, where he stopped White as he got into his car in the garage.
The security officer told police he allegedly saw White on an escalator behind a woman in a short skirt, and said he watched White take out his phone and slowly put it under the woman's skirt in front of him.
The officer said the woman got "spooked," turned towards White and then ran up the escalator.
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When White was stopped at his car by police, he denied any of the accusations and was then asked if police could look at his pictures on his phone.
White gave police his phone, and allegedly admitted to taking a picture,.
"I only took one photo and I deleted it," White allegedly told police. "I screw up, I'm sorry. I just want to go home."
Police then confiscated White's phone and arrested him for taking "upskirting" photos or videos, and surveillance video from the Natick Mall allegedly showing White on camera during the incident was placed into evidence.
Women in Natick were left feeling nervous and disgusted after the incident at the mall.
"Yeah, it makes you feel uneasy," Raisa Cruz said. "I thought it was safe to go to the mall. I think it's crazy that wherever you go, upskirting, things like this are happening."
Another Natick woman, Katie Wall, said she knows firsthand how uneasy upskirting can make a person feel.
"Two like older men came up behind me and took a picture of me, so it's a very uncomfortable thing," Wall said. "I felt extremely violated."
The two men in Wall's case weren't arrested, but she's happy that White got caught after his alleged involvement at the mall.
"I'm glad tha the got arrested," Wall said. "I think it's disgusting, and it's just super violating."
Now, Natick residents are hoping White's arrest sends a message to others who may be thinking about trying to take upskirt photos.
"It makes me feel a little safer," Cruz said. "But, hopefully there's no more creeps out there like him."