A 27-year-old man has been arrested after allegedly filming under the dresses of a woman and a 10-year-old girl at a UCF graduation ceremony, according to the UCF Police Department.
Jesse Alan Wiggins of Wildwood was attending a graduation ceremony on Friday, May 4. He said he was attending the ceremony because his fiancé was graduating, but police never confirmed if that was true, according to UCF PD Chief Richard Beary.
An unnamed woman and her 10-year-old child were walking to their seats in the CFE Federal Credit Union Arena, when the woman noticed Wiggins’ arm in between the seat and armrest. His smartphone was in his hand, parallel to the ground so that the camera could film under her daughter’s dress, according to Wiggins arrest affidavit.
The woman confronted Wiggins, who denied filming under their dresses. She said she saw him on his phone, and she believed he was deleting the video, according to the affidavit.
The woman immediately notified law enforcement. When questioned about the incident, Wiggins denied taking the videos and willingly gave his phone over so the officers could look through it, and was seized as evidence, according to the affidavit.
“It’s safe to say this mother who protected her instincts, saved some other people,” Beary said. “And I’d like to say thank you, because it takes courage to confront people and follow your instincts.”
After performing forensic analysis on the phone, the videos and photos were discovered, according to Beary. Two of the identified victims were the woman who alerted authorities and her daughter, and there is one more unidentified woman whom police are still looking for.
Other similar videos and pictures were found on Wiggin’s phone, however the location and time of the incidents are currently unknown, according to Beary.
Wiggins, who works in Gainesville, was taken into custody on May 9 and was booked into the Alachua County Jail. He faces charges of video voyeurism to a child under 16 and video voyeurism to an adult victim, according to Beary.
“In this day and age, it’s really easy to use [phones] as a weapon or as a crime tool, and it’s just sad that it happened here on a very momentous occasion for our people attending commencement ceremonies,” Beary said. “We won’t tolerate this behaviour here at UCF.”
The victim is upset and bothered by the situation, but is otherwise doing okay, according to Beary.
“As a father, and a grandfather of three, it’s disgusting,” Beary said. “To victimize a child, the only words that come to my mind are, ‘You’re a pervert, pal, and you need to be held accountable.’ A 10-year-old child? Come on.”
Any witnesses or individuals with information regarding the incident or the unidentified woman should contact the UCFPD at 407-823-5555..
