A 41-year-old Pennsylvania man was taken into custody as he tried to walk out of the Wegmans in Hanover Township after loss prevention staff say they caught him on camera photographing up women's skirts. Andre Bell, of Allentown, now faces nine counts of disorderly conduct following the August 21 arrest at the store's Whippany location.
According to Morris Focus, police responded to the Wegmans at 34 Sylvan Way after store loss prevention personnel reported a man photographing women's skirts inside the store. Loss prevention staff showed officers surveillance footage that allegedly depicted Bell photographing women from behind by holding a cellphone camera low, police said. Officers located Bell as he was leaving the store and took him into custody based on that footage.
Police said Bell had engaged in similar conduct involving several women at the same store on August 7, roughly two weeks before his arrest. He was charged under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-2 and transported to police headquarters, where he was released pending a court appearance. Officers seized Bell's cellphone as evidence, according to the report.
What New Jersey Law Says About Photographing Under Skirts
Disorderly conduct is classified in New Jersey as a petty disorderly persons offense under N.J.S.A. 2C:33-2, carrying statutory penalties of up to 30 days in jail and fines up to $500 per count, according to LACE Law, LLC. With nine separate counts against him, Bell's case is being handled in municipal court rather than as an indictable felony, at least for now.
But New Jersey's invasion of privacy statute could still come into play. In 2016, lawmakers amended N.J.S.A. 2C:14-9 to explicitly make photographing or filming another person's undergarment-clad intimate parts without consent a fourth-degree crime carrying up to 18 months in prison, per criminallawyerinnj.com. That amendment preceded the 2017 appellate ruling in State v. Nicholson, in which New Jersey judges found that surreptitiously taking cellphone videos under a woman's skirt in a grocery store violated the state's invasion of privacy laws even when undergarments were present, according to FindLaw. Whether Morris County prosecutors will add or upgrade charges once forensic examination of Bell's seized phone is complete remains an open question.
A Store With a History of Security Calls
The Whippany Wegmans has leaned on its loss prevention team before. The unit previously assisted Hanover Township police in May 2025 during a two-week shoplifting investigation involving $3,000 in stolen goods, using surveillance video to track repeated property crimes, according to New Jersey 101.5. Separately, a Rockaway woman was charged after leaving a child locked in a vehicle.
The Hanover Township Police Department, which handled Bell's arrest, is led by Chief Michael Loock. The department also participates in Morris County's ARRIVE Together program, which pairs mental health clinicians with municipal officers for crisis intervention calls, an initiative expanded to Hanover Township in October 2024.
Part of a Broader Pattern Across New Jersey
Bell's arrest lands amid what appears to be a steady stream of retail upskirting cases moving through New Jersey courts. Just two days earlier, a Connecticut man was extradited over an alleged Edgewater incident to face invasion of privacy charges in Bergen County, a case in which it remained unclear whether forensic analysis of devices seized from the suspect produced additional evidence.
As with any criminal case, the charges against Bell are accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. No court date has been reported.
