Venice Police Nab Underhanded Voyeur

ROME, May 14, 2008 — -- Italian police officers patrolling Venice's tourist-congested Rialto Bridge for pickpockets last Saturday became suspicious of a distinguished-looking man wandering up and down the bridge carrying a big bag.

On closer observation, they noticed the man seemed to nonchalantly and repeatedly follow young women up the steps of the bridge, particularly young blond tourists in short skirts.

When they stopped the man, a 38-year-old father of two young children who lived in the nearby town of Padova, the police not only found two hidden cameras in his bag (one was a spare) but also a dozen DVDs with more than 3,000 images of multinational female backsides he had captured over three years of camerawork in tourist hot spots between the Rialto Bridge and St. Mark's Square.

When the unknowing women stopped in line, bent over or, better yet, got stuck climbing the stairs of crowded bridges, he would hold his satchel strategically so he could film through the small hole in the side of the bag. The Venice crowds, lines and many pedestrian bridges with steps eased his mission.

The man, whose name the police have not released, confessed that he had been filming in and around the famous Venice tourist attractions on weekends, especially during summer, since 2004.

His equipment and archive were confiscated, and he was charged with infringement of privacy, which could earn him anywhere from six months to five years in jail.

The anonymous voyeur acted so inconspicuously that no one has ever reported him to the police, ABC News was told.

"No, unfortunately, no one has ever noticed they were being filmed, probably because the bridge is so crowded," said a Venice police spokesperson. The lack of an accusing party might void the charges.

Young female tourists in skirts interviewed today at Rome's Trevi Fountain were not overly concerned.

"I know it's not uncommon," said Cindy Nagel of Vancouver, British Columbia, who had heard of similar problems at a theme park in the United States. And even if she was in a skirt, she was wearing shorts underneath it, "more for the wind, than anything else," she said.

Miniskirted Jennifer Doyle, visiting Rome from Austin, Texas, was not worried either. "I've heard of that being done with cell phones," she said.

And it wasn't going to stop her from wearing short skirts. "After all, I do wear underwear," she said.

The anonymous voyeur claimed he had done nothing wrong. "I know it isn't the most normal thing to do, but I can't help it," he reportedly told police. "I am not doing anything wrong."