Prosecutors Praise Courage Of Victims In Workplace 'Upskirting' Case
By Mark Ackerman
DENVER (CBS4)- A Denver jury found a former Colorado Department of Education employee guilty of sexual assault and taking pictures up the skirts of his female co-workers.
Prosecutors say Thanh Ta took thousands of "upskirt" photos with his iPhone beginning in 2011, cataloging photos of his co-workers by name.
Many of his victims showed up in court, hearing after hearing, to make sure their voices were heard.
"Watching these women individually stand up to Thanh Ta was one thing," said Asssistant Distirct Attorney Ryan Brackley. "But, seeing them sitting in court supporting each other was inspiring."
Ta was finally caught when he connected a personal hard drive to his work computer at the Colorado Department of Education. Ta was placed on administrative leave and was later allowed to resign from CDE. But, police officers would examine his hard drives and found thousands of pictures, including evidence of a sexual assault.
Prosecutors say Ta not only victimized numerous women working at his government job, but other unsuspecting women in public places like coffee shops, grocery stores and the 16th Street Mall.
Prosecutors say there were at least 135 victims, but received convictions for 12. The other charges were dropped because the statute of limitations had expired.
"I was impressed by the resilience and courage of all of the victims in this case," Brackley said.
Ta will be sentenced June 29.
Mark Ackerman is a Special Projects Producer at CBS4. Follow him on Twitter @ackermanmark
