Krishna Ajvalia told Hillsborough County Sheriff's deputies he just couldn't resist recording women inside a Tampa Target store last month.
Security cameras recording inside the store on Sept. 10 show Ajvalia, 30, hiding his video camera inside his jacket while he follows behind women, shooting their backsides.
"I saw a couple of decent looking women and had this feeling come over me. I got like a drunk feeling and I couldn't control myself," Ajvalia told deputies in a statement.
One woman, talking on a cell phone, is oblivious that's she's being recorded by Ajvalia, who is standing just feet away.
Assistant State Attorney Pam Bondi called his actions "reprehensible."
"It's clear from watching the first woman, that she didn't know that she was being videoed by this guy," said Bondi. "It's a shame you can't just be shopping in a store and feel secure, that you have to look behind you for a person like that."
Security staff inside the Target on Bruce B. Downs noticed Ajvalia inside the store and called the sheriff's office.
Deputies arrested Ajvalia for video voyeurism, but the charges were later dropped. Bondi said his actions do not meet Florida's voyeurism statute.
"To be a crime, the filming must be done in a place where someone would have an expectation of privacy, such as a bathroom or a dressing room, or the filming must be done through or underneath someone's clothing," she said.
Alyssa Zavaglia is a senior at the University of South Florida. She shops at that Target location at least once a week. She said she's surprised to learn videotaping without permission is legal.
"It doesn't seem right, obviously."
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