A Utah man who took videos under the skirts of women without their knowledge at south City Market in Durango has pleaded guilty to attempted invasion of privacy for sexual gratification.
Verveen Dawes, 32, will be ordered to register as a sex offender and serve three years on supervised probation if a judge accepts his plea agreement Jan. 31 in La Plata County Court.
Dawes is suspected of strapping a cellphone to his foot and sneaking up behind women wearing skirts or dresses to record them, said Ekin Van Winkle, who brought the incident to The Durango Herald’s attention, saying residents should be made aware of what was happening.
The Durango Police Department and court records confirm the woman’s story.
On at least two occasions, Aug. 22 and Aug. 30, Dawes trolled the south City Market, 6 Town Plaza, in search of victims. Police have found 22 videos, some with multiple victims, recorded mostly at stores in Farmington.
Van Winkle, of Durango, said she was shopping with her two kids, ages 4 and 6, when a cashier saw Dawes videotaping her in a checkout line. The clerk called for another cashier to take his place while he went to notify store authorities.
But Van Winkle had checked out and left the store before anyone notified her of what happened, she said.
About a week later, a police detective showed up at Van Winkle’s front door saying she didn’t know it yet, but she had been the victim of a crime. Police were able to view surveillance footage from the grocery store to identify Van Winkle and the suspect, she said.
Police found a phone number for Dawes. They called him to say he had won a 50-inch plasma television and needed to come to south City Market to claim it. Upon arriving, detectives informed Dawes he hadn’t won a TV, but was being placed under arrest on suspicion of invasion of privacy.
Police seized his cellphone and found 22 “upskirt videos,” including some that had multiple victims, Detective Brad Roach said. But they didn’t find videos of Van Winkle or another victim who was seen being filmed Aug. 30 near the Starbucks at the entrance of the grocery store. It is possible Dawes used a different device than the one he possessed upon his arrest, Roach said.
Most of the videos on his cellphone appear to have been taken at big-box stores in Farmington, including Sam’s Club, Walmart and Target, police said. It is nearly impossible to identify any of the victims based on the videos, because they are shot from ground level and don’t show their faces, Roach said.
The Durango Police Department has made the Farmington Police Department aware of the incidents so it can start its own investigation and try to identify victims, Roach said.
Police have been unable to identify the woman who was seen being videotaped Aug. 30 near the Starbucks at the entrance of south City Market.
Police have no evidence to suggest Dawes was uploading any of the videos to the internet. If he had, he would be facing felony charges rather than the Class II misdemeanor he pleaded guilty to on Wednesday, said Assistant District Attorney Christian Champagne.
Dawes is from Montezuma Creek, Utah, but appears to have ties to Farmington and frequents Durango. He has a post office box in Ignacio.
Van Winkle said she’s disappointed law enforcement didn’t act more quickly to do a forensic analysis of the phone to determine when the videos were shot so they could review surveillance footage from other stories and identify other victims. She said she’s surprised police didn’t notify the public about what happened in an effort to locate other victims or witnesses.
Roach said he’s aware of only two incidents in Durango, but the case remains under investigation. Walmart keeps video surveillance for many months, so he’s not too concerned with losing the footage, he said.
“It’s just a matter of getting people to come forward,” he said. “That’s the only way we’re going to identify them (victims).”
Yet, police didn’t make the case known to the public.
Champagne said prosecutors and law enforcement considered notifying the public and putting out a call for possible victims to come forward, but it was apparent from the videos that most victims weren’t aware they were being videotaped, so it wouldn’t do any good.
“It’s a conviction, and it requires him to undergo sexual treatment, therapy and all those kinds of things,” Champagne said of the plea agreement with Dawes.
Van Winkle said she was “shocked,” “upset,” “fearful” and “angry” to learn of what happened.
“I went through a whole host of emotions,” she said.
She added: “The women of the community should be made aware this is happening. I think a lot of times, even for myself, I worry more about what’s happening to my children, and I forget I need to watch out for myself, too.”
Anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of Dawes or witnessed him filming is asked to notify Roach at 375-4738.
“There are several other victims out there,” Roach said.
shane@durangoherald.com
