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Man charged with video voyeurism at Sanibel Shell Festival

Posted at 12:56 PM, Apr 05, 2018
and last updated 2018-04-05 20:54:18-04

SANIBEL, Fla. -- An Illinois man was arrested Tuesday after investigators say he secretly shot video up a woman's skirt at a shell festival in Sanibel last month.

67-year-old David Staver of Vincennes, Indiana was booked on three charges of Video Voyeurism and released.

According to a Sanibel Police Department report, the incident happened at the Sanibel Shell Festival on March 1st.

The victim told police that she was visiting the festival with her kids and her mother.  She says when she leaned over a table to view a shark's tooth, her mother noticed a man, later identified as Staver, position his iPhone under the woman's skirt.

Staver was confronted and briskly walked out of the building, where he was stopped by a traffic aid until police could arrive.  While waiting, Staver was seen making wiping movements on his phone.

Officers later confiscated the phone and found several photos and videos in the 'recently deleted' folder showing the victim from various angles, including close ups of her body and looking up her skirt.

Staver admitted to police that he took the photos.  He claimed he couldn't help it because the victim was so beautiful and says it was the first time he'd done this before.

However, after detectives seized his computer, they say they located hundreds of similar videos and photos.  Detectives contacted two of the women seen in the images, and both denied giving Staver permission to record them.

Police say they were able to confirm that Staver shot the videos since many of them began with the camera pointed at his face before moving to the unaware victims.

Police say Staver was wearing Santiva Chronicle a name tag while at the shell festival, and is listed as the publication's editor on its website.

Santiva Chronicle publisher Shannen Hayes tells Fox that Staver is no longer employed there and has no comment on the matter.