WATCHUNG BOROUGH, NJ (Somerset County) – A cashier is facing several charges in connection to upskirting incidents at a Somerset County convenience store, according to Somerset County Prosecutor John P. McDonald.
Miguel A. Melchor-Gomez has been arrested and charged with five counts of second-degree attempted endangering the welfare of a child, four counts of third-degree invasion of privacy, fourth-degree invasion of privacy, fourth-degree tampering with evidence, and fourth-degree obstructing administration of law, McDonald said.
Following his arrest, the State filed a motion for pretrial detention, which was granted by the Hon. Julie M. Marino, J.S.C., and Melchor-Gomez is currently detained, McDonald said.
Melchor-Gomez’s charges stem from multiple instances in which he used his cellular telephone to take, or attempt to take, surreptitious videos underneath the shorts or skirts of unsuspecting female victims. His crimes occurred hundreds of times over a twenty-one-month period between Dec. 2021 and Aug. 19, 2023, at the Circle Convenience Store, located at the Sunoco gas station, 53 Stirling Road, in Watchung Borough where he worked as a cashier, McDonald said.
The investigation revealed that Melchor-Gomez used his cell phone to film underneath his victims’ clothing in one of two ways, both of which occurred inside the convenience store: he either pretended that the credit card machine malfunctioned and directed his victims to the counter where he would stand close to his victim to complete the purchase, or he would position himself very close to the victim at some other location within the store.
“The vast majority of defendant’s victims are adults, but several of his victims are under 18,” McDonald said.
Following Melchor-Gomez’s arrest, police seized his cellular telephone and conducted a forensic examination of the phone. At this time, there is no evidence that he shared or disseminated these videos, McDonald said.
This is an ongoing investigation, and police are in the process of identifying the victims depicted in the videos contained on his cell phone. Police ask individuals who believe that they may be victims to attempt to identify the date on which they were inside the convenience store (through credit card records, etc.), and the clothing that they wore that day (through photos on their cell phones, home surveillance cameras, etc.), McDonald said.
After victims have attempted to identify the date on which they were inside the convenience store, they can contact the Watchung Police Department at WPD.TIPS@watchungpd.com or 908-756-2504.
