Police: Man Hid Cameras In Backpack, Sock To Record Up Women’s Skirts At Rogers Stores

ROGERS, Ark. – A man caught with a backpack rigged with outward-facing hidden cameras told police he had secretly recorded underneath women’s clothing about 20 times at Walmart and Goodwill stores in Rogers over a two-month span, according to court records.

Rogers Police Department investigators obtained a search warrant to examine a cell phone, a tablet and two memory cards belonging to Jorge Alvarez-Tiscareno after he allegedly admitted the recordings were stored on those devices, according to an affidavit filed in support of the warrant. The warrant cites video voyeurism.

The investigation began July 9, when a woman wearing a skirt noticed a man following her through the Goodwill store in Rogers, the affidavit said. The man, later identified as Alvarez-Tiscareno, allegedly pushed his shopping cart close enough to bump into her. When she looked down, she saw a small black device sticking out about six inches from the cart that she believed was a camera.

The woman moved away and waited for her boyfriend to arrive. He looked at the cart, also believed the device was a camera and called police while alerting Goodwill employees, the affidavit said. Alvarez-Tiscareno allegedly kept following the woman through the store.

While she stood in the checkout line, Alvarez-Tiscareno allegedly pushed his cart into her from behind again, with the camera positioned so it could record underneath her skirt, the affidavit said.

When officers arrived, Alvarez-Tiscareno left his cart and belongings inside the store. Officers found him outside holding a camera he had taken off the cart. He was not arrested that day and gave officers a false name before being released, the affidavit said.

On July 24, Goodwill employees called police again after Alvarez-Tiscareno returned to the store. Officers found him with a backpack that had holes cut into it and camera lenses positioned to face outward through the openings, the affidavit said.

The cameras had been hot-glued together and had exposed wiring, and carabiners had been attached to the backpack to hold makeshift external power sources, according to the affidavit. Officers also found a camera hidden inside an eyewear case with only the lens showing, pouches with holes cut in them, an extendable selfie stick with a wire attached, a cell phone, a tablet and two 64GB memory cards.

“Based on the manner in which the equipment had been modified and concealed, it appeared designed to record people without their knowledge and to avoid detection,” the affidavit said.

Alvarez-Tiscareno was booked into the Benton County jail on charges of video voyeurism, obstructing governmental operations, possession of a Schedule VI controlled substance and two counts of possession of drug paraphernalia, according to jail records. Schedule VI substances include marijuana.

Jail records also list a hold for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, with no bond. Alvarez-Tiscareno was released from the jail July 28 after seven days, the records show. The records do not indicate where he went after his release.

Rogers police Detective Pennington interviewed Alvarez-Tiscareno at the jail July 25. After waiving his rights, Alvarez-Tiscareno told the detective he had been having sexual problems since his wife left him about five years ago and that those problems eventually led him to feel tempted to secretly record women in public, according to the affidavit.

Alvarez-Tiscareno allegedly admitted buying a camera at Walmart about two months earlier and using it to record underneath women’s clothing at Walmart and Goodwill stores in Rogers. He said he targeted women he found attractive who were wearing dresses, skirts or short shorts, the affidavit said.

Alvarez-Tiscareno acknowledged he knew what he was doing was wrong and admitted hiding a camera inside a sock after noticing a hole in it, according to the affidavit.

Benton County District Judge Chris Griffin signed the search warrant in late July. Pennington reported in a return filed with the court that the devices were searched Aug. 25 and that “data and videos” were seized.

Court records reviewed by Arkansas Breaking News did not indicate whether prosecutors have filed formal charges against Alvarez-Tiscareno in circuit court.