School worker films up girls' skirts, police say
Mike Sakal, Tribune


An illegal immigrant from Mexico who was working as a contract worker in the food service department of the Scottsdale Unified School District is being held on $1 million bond after he was caught videotaping up girls’ skirts at Saguaro High School on Tuesday.

Ricardo Espinoza-Valdez, 28, was arrested on suspicion of two counts of disorderly conduct about 5 p.m. Tuesday after Saguaro assistant principals Robert Akhbari and Greg Sackos watched him place a video camera near a girl’s skirt in the school’s courtyard, according to Scottsdale police.

Akhbari and Sackos were following up on a complaint from a female student who said she saw Espinoza-Valdez place a camera in a box a few inches away from another girl’s skirt.

They seized his camera after they caught him in the act.

After Espinoza-Valdez was apprehended by the school’s resource officer at 6250 N. 82nd St., he told sex crime detectives he attempted to photograph or video the buttocks and legs of girls about 10 times in the last 30 days.

He also told police he previous videotaped girls at Chaparral High School and at Scottsdale Fashion Square, and police are investigating to see if there are other victims.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement have placed a “holdâ€