By Kirsty Ross
A WERRIBEE man was arrested last Monday for allegedly taking inappropriate photographs of women at the Australian Open.
A woman alerted police late in the afternoon saying she saw the 35-year-old using a handheld digital camera to look up women’s skirts.
The man was assisting police with their inquiries at the Melbourne headquarters late last week.
Victoria Police Senior Constable Bradi Owens said the man was released from custody last Monday night and was expected to be charged on summons with offensive behaviour.
It is the second case involving a man arrested for taking inappropriate pictures at the Australian Open.
Two women alerted police the previous Wednesday about a man that they claimed had tried to film up their skirts with a digital camera.
Police seized a 32-year-old man’s camera equipment and he is also expected to be charged with offensive behaviour and the use of surveillance equipment.
Police are also investigating the assault of a five-year-old boy in a toilet cubicle at the tournament.
In light of the allegations, Victoria’s opposition spokeswoman for Women’s Affairs, Wendy Lovell, is calling for the State Government to introduce tougher laws to prevent the inappropriate use of technology.
“Yes, Victoria has laws to deal with obscene behaviour, but these laws were not designed during times of such rapid advancement in technology,” Ms Lovell said.
“There should be legislation that ensures there is no opportunity for loopholes.”
Ms Lovell also suggested legislation should ensure people found guilty of such offences were listed on the sexual offender’s register.
The Queensland Government amended legislation in 2005 to deal with conduct known as up-skirting – where an offender uses a concealed camera to take an image of a person’s private parts or underwear under their clothing.
