Investigators in Lake Worth say they have never seen a case like this. They say 32-year-old Alexander Martinez, of Hurst, has been secretly upskirting women and teenagers all around the Metroplex for years.
They're now trying to identify the hundreds of victims who were inappropriately recorded and had no idea. "It's sad there’s someone out there doing this stuff to teenagers and to moms and ladies out there," said Detective Richard Martinez of the Lake Worth PD.
Det. Martinez says police were tipped off to the suspect when a woman at the Lake Worth Target reported she'd caught him recording her with his cell phone under a dressing room door. The detective says Alexander returned to the store the very next week, but when they questioned him, they never could've imagined what they'd find: hundreds of victims and nearly 1,000 images and videos.
Police say the images and videos were discovered on Alexander Martinez's electronics, and depicted females who'd unknowingly been recorded in dressing rooms, grocery store lines, at football games and even through the blinds in their bedroom windows. Det. Martinez said some of the images depicted nude women who were either sleeping or unconscious.
Police also arrested Martinez's friend, Janna McFadden, who they believe told him to send her the images and delete them from his phone when he was being questioned.
"His technique was to put his phone by their feet and stand around and act like he’s shopping," the detective said, "and when he gets maybe a few seconds of footage, he’ll pick it up and move on."
Sometimes police say he'd use a selfie stick. Police say the images dated back to 2011. "We probably don’t know everything he’s done, that’s just the evidence we have at this time," said Chief Corry Blount. "It’s overwhelming."
Chief Blount says, based on the evidence, the crimes occurred all over the Metroplex including, they believe, at the Galleria in Dallas and the North East Mall in Hurst. The issue now is finding all the victims, which may prove difficult as women likely had no idea.
"It’s just disgusting. It’s sad," Det. Martinez said.
Neither Martinez nor McFadden have attorneys listed, and our attempts to reach Martinez by phone were unsuccessful. Martinez has been charged with invasive visual recording.
Lake Worth Police stress that if Alexander Martinez looks familiar to you in any way and you think you might be a victim, to please call Det. Martinez at 817-709-7086.