Man Who Tried to 'Upskirt' Thwarted by Battery Blast

An attempt at "upskirting," an exploding camera, and a guilty conscience led to … no arrest in Wisconsin, but the story is still attracting attention nationwide. The Wisconsin State Journal reports on the unidentified 32-year-old man at the center of it all, showing up Tuesday at a Madison police station to turn himself in for what he'd intended to do: take pictures up women's skirts by using a shoe camera. The Washington Post notes it's not exactly clear what a "shoe camera" is, but the man apparently was able to attach some kind of photographic device to his shoe and was testing it at home when the battery exploded, injuring his foot, Officer David Dexheimer tells the Journal.

After getting treatment for the minor burns he received from the mini-blast, the man confessed his unsavory intentions to a clergyman, who encouraged him to turn himself in to police, Dexheimer says. There's a Wisconsin law on the books that outlaws anyone from purposely installing a device to photograph or otherwise record under a person's clothes without that person's consent, but the man in this case caught a lucky break: Per Madison Police Chief Mike Koval's daily "significant calls" blog, "the subject was counseled on his actions and released from the scene as no illicit video had been taken." Koval notes there is an ongoing investigation, however. (In some places, upskirting is legal.)