Counting 'em Down: For better or for worse, this is the Headline Surfer countdown of 2021's Top 100 biggest news stories of Central Florida along the tourism-driven stretch of Interstate 4 (Orlando Attractions and east to I-95 & the World's Most Famous Beach in Daytona). Each recap segment is posted with its own headline, culminating with the unveiling of No. 1. Each segment includes a 2022 update.
Headline Surfer photo illustration / Bryan Barclay, 37, of Deltona, is charged with two counts of video voyeurism of women at the Home Depot in Lake, Mary, Florida, by allegedly aiming his using his smartphone up the skirts of unsuspected women shoppers from behind without their knowledge or consent
By HENRY FREDERICK / Headline Surfer
LAKE MARY, Fla. -- The Deltona man apparently felt right at home using his smartphone camera to film or take pics up the skirts or short dresses of unsuspecting women shopping at the Home Depot back in November 2021.
Using the smartphone wasn't a very smart idea after all because the amateur videographer got outsmarted by deputies with the Seminole County Sheriff's Office who caught him red-handed filming up the skirt of an undercover agent at a Lake Mary Home Depot on Nov. 22.
Investigators said they organized the undercover operation after Lake Mary police said they’d received reports that a man, identified as Bryan Barclay, 37, had been frequenting the hardware store and trying to film under women’s skirts and dresses as they bent over to pick up an item on the lowest shelf or floor while shopping.
So on that day, deputies sent an undercover agent into the store wearing a skirt. Deputies said Barclay couldn't resist the urge to engage in his seedy video voyeurism by following her around the store, a behavior known as "upskirting."
And then he seized upon the insatiable opportunity that arose, according to police reports: Deputies said they saw Barclay walk behind the agent while holding his cell phone as she bent over. He then squatted down low and appeared to use his smartphone to try to capture video or pictures under her dress without her knowledge or consent.
So on that day, deputies sent an undercover agent into the store wearing a skirt. Deputies said Bryan Barclay (shown hwere and above) couldn't resist the urge to engage in his seedy video voyeurism by following her around the store, a behavior known as "upskirting." And then he seized upon the insatiable opportunity that arose, according to police reports: Deputies said they saw Barclay walk behind the agent while holding his cell phone as she bent over. He then squatted down low and appeared to use his smartphone to try to capture video or pictures under her dress without her knowledge or consent.
As Barclay left the store, he was detained by deputies. When they searched his phone, deputies said they found another video from the garden section of the store where he was behind an unknown woman in a short skirt.
Barclay was subsequently arrested on a sex offense charge of video voyeurism of someone 19 years or older.
Barclay later bonded out of jail and has since pleaded not guilty at the Seminole County Criminal Justice Center Courthouse in Sanford to the felony charges.
"The Defendant was holding his cell phone in his hand," an arrest affidavit read. "The Defendant then squatted down low and appeared to use his cell phone in an effort to capture a video or picture of the undergarments underneath the undercover Agent's dress without her permission."
Barclay then left the store but was stopped outside by investigators who were allowed to search his phone, they said.
"Defendant admitted to taking a picture of the undercover Agent, the arrest affidavit stated, adding, "Defendant stated he deleted the picture shortly after taking it. He admitted what he did was wrong and apologized for it."
Investigators said that upon searching Barclay's phone, they discovered another video taken in the garden section of the store of an unknown woman who was wearing a short skirt.
Barclay told investigators he got the idea from watching porn videos focused on upskirting women in the aisles of large hardware stores department stores such as Home Depot and
Anyone who thinks they may have had such an invasive run-in with Barclay is asked to please call the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office at 407-665-6650.
Update on the criminal case:
Docket sounding on readiness for trial is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on March 23 before Circuit Judge William S. Orth at the Criminal Justice Center Courthouse in Sanford. Bryan Barclay is represented by private defense attorney William Brown. Barclay faces five years in state prison if convicted of the felony video voyeurism charge.
About the Byline Writer: Henry Frederick is a member of the working press and publisher of Headline Surfer, the award-winning 24/7 internet news outlet launched in 2008, that serves greater Daytona Beach, Sanford & Orlando from Lake Mary, Florida via HeadlineSurfer.com. Frederick has amassed close to 150 award-winning bylines in print & online. He earned his Master of Arts in New Media Journalism from Full Sail University in 2019. He was a breaking news reporter (metro cops & courts beat) for the Daytona Beach News-Journal for nearly a decade. And Before that worked the same beat for The Journal-News/Gannett Suburban Newspapers in Rockland/Westchester counties, NY, dating back to 1989. Having witnessed the execution of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Florida's death chamber and covering other high profile cases, Frederick has appeared on national crime documentary shows on Discovery ID, Reelz, and the Oxygen Network series "Snapped" for his analysis. • Award-Winning Journalism: Florida Press Club recognizes Headline Surfer for nine stories in 2020 statewide competition. • Award-Winning Journalism of Henry Frederick.