BERKELEY — A 71-year-old man has been charged with 21 misdemeanors for allegedly walking around Berkeley and filming up women’s dresses and skirts without their consent, court records show.
Lawrence Alvin Williams, of Berkeley, is already facing a misdemeanor sexual battery charge for allegedly groping a 15-year-old girl at a bus stop near Berkeley High School. After his arrest in connection with that incident last March, police searched Williams’ phone and found evidence he either filmed women or attempted to 59 times, according to court records.
The 21 counts date from November 2023 to March 2024, when Williams was arrested in the sexual battery case. Williams was arraigned on Wednesday, where Judge Pelayo Llamas released him without bail over prosecutors’ objections, according to the minute order.
Police said in court records that they arrested Williams on Sept. 9, and that he claimed the “upskirt” videos were consensual. When police confronted him with a video where a woman “clearly caught him and confronted Williams,” police say he remained silent.
Williams is next due in court on Oct. 17, records show.
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Source: www.mercurynews.com