Man sentenced to prison for ‘up skirt’ photos

COEUR d’ALENE — A Florida man received a prison sentence after pleading guilty to taking photos under the skirts of teen girls without their knowledge.

Robert A. Andrews, 33, pleaded guilty in October 2023 to video voyeurism by use of a device, a felony.

First District Judge Susie Jensen sentenced Andrews last week to five years in prison, the maximum penalty for the crime, with parole eligibility after one-and-a-half years.

The charge stems from last August, when a Target employee told Coeur d’Alene police he had observed a man, later identified as Andrews, use a cellphone to take a photo up a girl’s skirt while shopping.

Police reviewed surveillance footage, which appeared to show two instances of Andrews taking photos up a teen girl’s skirt. Investigators used the footage to identify the people involved, including Andrews and the 16-year-old girl he photographed.

Law enforcement obtained a warrant for Andrews’ arrest, as well as a search warrant for his phone, which reportedly yielded numerous “up skirt” photos taken at Target in Coeur d’Alene, as well as in Super 1 Foods in Athol on a different day.

In addition to the photos taken in Kootenai County, police said the phone contained more than 200 similar photos taken over a period of about 10 months.

In 2019, Andrews was charged with voyeurism in Florida.

“The verdict was no contest and adjudication was withheld,” court documents said.