Shrewsbury PhD student 'possibly' took upskirt shots, court told
A PhD student admitted he had "possibly" been taking pictures up the skirts of women at a wedding reception when confronted about his odd behaviour, the Old Bailey heard.
Collin Lieberg, 34, a US citizen living in Hill's Lane, Shrewsbury, was caught on CCTV using his mobile phone to take perverted shots of female guests at the Oyster Shed pub near London Bridge, it is said.
When he was accosted by the best man at wedding, Leo Steele, Lieberg did not deny taking the pictures, the court heard.
"I did repeat the question a few times but he did not at any point satisfactorily answer the question – he did not deny it," said Mr Steele.
"I said to him that there's no particularly polite way of putting this, that several people had told me he had been seen taking pictures up the skirts of various women at the event."
Mr Steele, a producer at the Tacit Theatre company, said Lieberg replied: "I see."
"He was quite detached, quite relaxed, and not curious – I would describe him as neutral," he continued.
"There was a bit of back and forth and he said 'what do you want me to say?'"
"I asked him did you do it or not, and he replied 'possibly'.
"It ended up with me asking if I could have a look at his phone to see if I could see these pictures."
Mr Steele said when Lieberg handed over his phone, he saw 'some images flicking across the screen' after he unlocked it.
"It was very fast and a deft movement, it was more than unlocking his phone," he said.
Lieberg, a student in the history of music at the University of Warwick, is accused of "lewd, obscene or disgusting behaviour" at the wedding reception on July 26 last year. He denies outraging public decency.
Police did not find any 'upskirt' images or photographs on his phone, the court has heard.
The trial continues.
