A man modified a mobile phone and backpack so he could secretly film up the skirts of numerous unsuspecting women at Canberra shopping centres.
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Fredericus Hendrikus Zaal, 49, was arrested after a reported suspected upskirting incident at Tuggeranong Hyperdome in December last year.
He pleaded guilty in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday to more than a dozen charges of intimate observation.
Court documents said a woman had been browsing beauty products with two young girls at Big W when she noticed a partially unzipped black backpack had been placed on the ground between her legs.
She turned around to see Zaal, who apologised before he picked up the bag and put it over his shoulder.
The woman later saw the offender nearby as he watched a video on his phone and the man she was shopping with confronted him before calling police.
Officers who arrived and seized Zaal's backpack and mobile phone found video files showing footage filmed up women's skirts.
He was arrested and admitted to police he had filmed up the skirts of several Canberra women without their knowledge or permission over a two-week period that month.
Police discovered his phone and backpack had been modified in order to secretly film up women's skirts.
Court documents said the defendant attached the phone to the backpack with Velcro to hold the device steady and allow the camera to be positioned low and face upwards.
Fifteen video files of indecent footage of unsuspecting women in public places were also found, with Zaal's face clearly visible in some of the videos.
Police alleged Zaal used the device to covertly film up women's skirts as he stood behind them on escalators at shopping centres, or would follow women into shops before he placed his backpack in a spot that allowed him to get similar footage.
Zaal will be sentenced later this year.
