Up Skirting Incidents Cost a DoD Contractor His Clearance – After 10 Years

Up skirting is when someone places a video recording device under a woman’s skirt without their consent or knowledge. Recently, a DoD contractor was denied security clearance eligibility because of being caught engaging in this type of behavior and he subsequently appealed the decision to the Defense Office of Hearing and Appeals (DOHA). Here are the highlights of the case:

The applicant was a former test pilot in the military and while on active duty, was arrested in 2006 for up skirting five women at an airport while traveling on official government business. He lied to the police during initial questioning, denying the accusations, but when a video cassette he had been hiding in his pocket fell out for all to see, he admitted to the charges. It eventually came out that he had researched up-skirting on the internet and his computer disclosed 1,700 searches on the subject. His security clearance was suspended at that time but was eventually reinstated in 2009 after he had sought mental health counseling.

Fast forward to 2017 and the contractor engages in another episode of up skirting at a department store which was witnessed by store security on video. He was arrested for the offense in February 2018 and he denied committing the behavior. Eventually the charge was dismissed by the prosecutor, but there was still evidence that pointed to him having committee the offense. During an interview with a background investigator the contractor admitted to seeking help regarding his pornography addiction and stated he attends Sex Addicts Anonymous twice a week.

The DOHA judge in this case noted the contractor still to this day denies he was involved in the 2017 incident despite there being a photograph of him in the store. The judge also stated that regardless of his claims of mental health counseling, the contractor still exhibited the same proclivities that caused him to be arrested previously.

Clearance eligibility denied!