Man sentenced for Cardiff city centre upskirting

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Excellent CCTV work by detectives resulted in this person being brought to justice for upskirting in Cardiff city centre.

We follow up as many investigative options as possible, including CCTV, to trace those responsible for committing crime and to get justice for victims.

And in this case, it proved crucial.

Police were called to the incident in St David’s 2 shopping centre on the morning of Monday, July 7.

A woman reported that an unknown man had filmed up her daughter’s skirt and ran away in the direction of Churchill Way.

The suspect was tracked on CCTV back to his car which was parked in Fitzalan Road.

Further checks revealed Alex Allegretto as a named driver on the vehicle, and he was arrested at his home address in Maesteg four days later.

The 39-year-old admitted the offence of operating a mobile phone beneath the clothing of another person for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced at Cardiff Magistrates’ Court on August 5.

Allegretto must:

• Register with the police in accordance with the Sexual Offences Act 2003 for five years
• Do 140 hours unpaid work
• Complete Rehabilitation Activity Requirements.

Officer in the case Sergeant Luis Antony, from South Wales Police, said:

“Everyone has the right to feel safe, wherever they are, and nobody should be subjected to this kind of offence.
“This incident continues to have an impact the victim. She is worried about people walking behind her and is anxious when out and about.
“Through extensive CCTV enquiries we were able to track the suspect before, during and after the offence.
“The footage clearly shows Alex Allegretto’s intentions and what he did to this young girl while she was innocently out shopping with her mother.
“We hope the outcome at court provides some comfort to her and allows her to rebuild her confidence.”