CAN’T SKIRT THE LAW
EX-’NOVA STUDENT CONVICTED IN CASE OF 51,000 UPSKIRT VIDEOS, PICTURES
MEDIA COURTHOUSE » A former Villanova University student has been convicted on charges connected to a case in which authorities alleged he shot more than 51,000 upskirt videos and photos of unsuspecting victims in public areas and restrooms.
The bench verdict against Vincent Kane, 19, of the 100 block of Sterner Avenue in the Broomall section of Marple, was handed down by Delaware County Common Pleas Court Judge James Bradley on Monday morning, following a stipulated non-jury trial before the judge last week.
Specifically, Kane, was found guilty on three counts of child pornography, five counts of invasion of privacy and two counts of criminal use of communication facility, according to Assistant District Attorney Christopher Boggs.
Boggs noted that Kane was initially charged with additional counts of child pornography and related offenses, and he offered the reduced number of offenses because Kane opted to forego a jury trial. A jury had been picked last Monday and jurors would have heard the case based on the additional counts.
Kane waived his right to a jury trial Tuesday morning. In exchange, Boggs said at the time, the commonwealth agreed to lessen Kane’s exposure at sentencing. No testimony was delivered Tuesday, but Boggs entered several pieces of evidence including incident reports, forensics reports and search warrants, as well as the electronic devices and the images taken from them.
Kane’s defense attorney, Michael Harris Fienman, said Monday, “We stipulated to certain faces and the judge made his finding on those stipulations.
“In doing so,” Fienman continued, “Mr. Kane preserved his appellate rights and this is in large part why the previous attempts at a negotiated-plea disposition were rejected.”
Boggs said Kane had rejected a negotiated guilty plea deal of one count of child pornography, accompanied by five counts of invasion of privacy, with two to four years in state prison.
At Kane’s sentencing next month, Boggs said he will be asking for more than a two-year minimum, though he still has multiple pre-sentencing procedures to deal with beforehand.
On Monday, the prosecutor said he does believe that Kane has accepted responsibility for his actions.
“This case is still very much ongoing,” Fienman said Monday, adding that his client will be making a statement at the Jan. 22 sentencing. “We are in the United States and everybody is entitled to their opinion. I would stay tuned and listen. I am certain my client will make a statement at that time.”
Kane surrendered to authorities Oct. 26, 2016, following a joint investigation by the Delaware County Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the Villanova University Police Department.
“For his own sexual gratification, Vincent Kane surreptitiously recorded countless victims, including his fellow students, violating and breaching their personal security, which can never be restored,” Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said in a prepared statement announcing Kane’s arrest last year.
Kane allegedly took the shots on the Main Line campus of Villanova where he was a part-time student, at a CVS on West Chester Pike in Broomall where he worked, and at Cardinal O’Hara High School, where he was listed a member of the Class of 2015.
Authorities were alerted to Kane’s alleged activities Sept. 22, 2016, when a female Villanova student reported finding a concealed cellphone in a unisex bathroom on the third floor of Tolentine Hall. The student found the video recorder on the phone was active and reported it to the University Department of Safety, according to an affidavit of probable cause.
Delaware County Detective Ed Pisani examined the phone with Villanova Police Chief David Tedjeske and found various user accounts for Kane, as well as several videos and images of people being surreptitiously recorded, including an “upskirt” video taken at the CVS on Sept. 18, 2016.
Pisani and Tedjeske made contact with Kane and he allegedly admitted to hiding the camera in the bathroom where it was recovered. Kane said he had been making similar videos for about two years, according to the affidavit.
Kane gave the investigators
“For his own sexual gratification, Vincent Kane surreptitiously recorded countless victims, including his fellow students, violating and breaching their personal security, which can never be restored.” — Delaware County District Attorney Jack Whelan said in a prepared statement announcing Vincent Kane’s arrest last year
consent to search his school-issued laptop, as well as a personal desktop computer. Both were later seized along with an external Seagate hard drive.
Pisani performed a forensic examination of the devices and found more than 51,000 total images and videos taken from Villanova, the CVS and Cardinal O’Hara High School. Nine videos were of the Villanova bathroom and included multiple victims. Four other videos were taken from inside an unknown bathroom and another 12 videos depicted “upskirt” images at the CVS.
More than 300 images involved a single female who appeared to be about age 12 in 2015, in which Kane allegedly attempted to capture “upskirt” images. There were also seven videos and 12 images of apparent child pornography depicting infants and others under the age of 12.
Kane was ordered to report to Delaware County Prison Dec. 27 after the judge allowed him to remain free for the Christmas holiday.