Jake James Devereux (25) appeared in the Dunedin District Court yesterday on six charges of making an intimate visual recording as well as counts of theft and resisting.
Judge Michael Crosbie called it ''demeaning, voyeuristic offending'' but said there was a public interest in the defendant being treated for his addiction and psychological issues rather than locked up.
He sentenced him to 18 months' intensive supervision but rejected a bid to keep the man's name suppressed.
One of the victims, who had previously been the subject of sexual assault, said she was re-traumatised by the incident which happened when she was getting food with her boyfriend after a night out.
''She feels something has been taken from her without consent,'' the judge said.
Another victim said she no longer felt free to dress how she wanted, after her short skirt resulted in her being targeted by the defendant.
Devereux applied for name suppression on the basis that his surname was shared by several prominent professionals in the city.
Counsel Marie Taylor-Cyphers said others with the family name would be stigmatised by offending with such a ''creepy motive'' and their reputations might suffer.
Judge Michael Crosbie accepted the defendant had brought shame on the family but stressed that none of them was culpable.
''There can be no guilt by association and the family name is stronger and more powerful, as is any family name, than the falling from grace of an individual family member,'' he said.
''Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.''
Devereux's spree began in February last year when he was standing near a bus stop in George St.
He positioned himself behind a young woman who was boarding a bus and as she stepped up, the defendant held his phone in position to film up her skirt.
In May, Devereux was in the same area of the CBD, waiting at a pedestrian crossing.
Noticing a woman beside him wearing a short white skirt, he knelt down, pretending to tie his shoe laces and activated his phone's camera.
The next day he he employed similar tactics and
filmed one woman outside Farmers department store , but when he found another target inside the Princes St Night n Day he was spotted.
Devereux crouched beside a woman, who was wearing a long white dress, pretending he was interested in items on a low shelf.
He held the phone between her legs and was seen making minor adjustments to his position as she swayed.
Devereux was ejected by store security.
Court documents revealed his intimate recordings were not restricted to impromptu street episodes.
On February 21 last year, the defendant checked into the Leviathan Hotel.
That morning Devereux saw a woman enter the shower, waited for her to turn the water on then placed his cellphone under the partition.
The victim saw the camera and screamed. The man hurriedly gathered his belongings and checked out.
Devereux was arrested and released on strict bail conditions but, the court heard yesterday, even that was not enough to stop him.
Despite being barred from possessing a phone with a camera function, he took such a device to a central dairy in December and followed two women around the store.
The defendant was seen by staff twice trying to film up the victim's skirt while they stood at the till.
Ms Taylor-Cyphers argued the gravity of her client's offending was low because it had not arisen through a relationship.
The acts were ''impulsive'', she said, and the illicit footage was never distributed.
But Judge Crosbie said the number of victims and the invasive nature of the offending meant it could only be viewed as serious.
Though Devereux had a limited criminal history, he noted reports placed him at high risk of reoffending.
The defendant admitted the covert filming was for his own sexual gratification.
Devereux accepted he had problems with substance abuse, said he felt shame and remorse for his actions and had deleted his up-skirt films after viewing them, hence the repeated offending.
The judge imposed judicial monitoring, meaning he will receive a report on the man's rehabilitative progress every three months.
Any problems may result in Devereux being resentenced.
