A former Fred Meyer employee was sentenced Tuesday to nine months in jail for taking an upskirt photo of a woman at the Vancouver store and having several similar images on his cellphone.
Kirk Addison Williams, 22, of Vancouver pleaded guilty March 26 in Clark County Superior Court to two counts of first-degree voyeurism and 10 counts of second-degree voyeurism. At one point, Williams faced more than three dozen voyeurism charges before reaching a plea deal with the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office.
In May 2018, a woman told police she was in the cosmetic aisle of Fred Meyer, 2500 Columbia House Blvd., when she felt something tap the back of her knee, according to an affidavit of probable cause. She turned around to find a man in his early 20s wearing a Fred Meyer shirt, later identified by other employees as Williams, the affidavit said.
The man was holding a red phone and appeared nervous, according to the affidavit. She then reported the incident to the customer service department.
Later, a police officer reviewed store surveillance footage, which showed a man holding a device under the woman’s skirt as she looked at some merchandise, according to the affidavit. Williams admitted to officers that he took a photo up the woman’s skirt for the purpose of sexual gratification, according to court records.
In October, Williams was charged with numerous additional counts of voyeurism following a search of his phone, which was seized at the time of his arrest, according to court records. Those allegations predate the incident that led to Williams’ arrest in May.
The victim did not offer a statement in court Tuesday. Williams apologized, adding that he was under unusual stress due to his parents being diagnosed with cancer.
“I’m sorry to the community. Obviously, I’m sorry to the victim,” a teary Williams said. “I was just in a bad spot.”
Judge John Fairgrieve said he appreciated Williams’ contrition while recognizing the seriousness of the offenses.
“That’s not always what I see,” Fairgrieve said of the apology. “These kinds of crimes can inflict quite a bit of psychological injury on the victim.”
