"The iPad was right between my legs, and I was looking into the camera," Weaver said.
Surveillance video from the Puppy & Me store on Ventura Boulevard shows a man wearing a court interpreter ID badge, reaching what appears to be an iPad beneath Weaver's skirt.
"It shows him lean down like 12 times. He's got it tucked in his arm when not using it, and then sticking it out with one arm," Weaver said. "I looked at him, and at that point, he knew I had caught him, so he said to me, 'Can I pet your dog?'"
But Weaver says she didn't know what to do. She tried tipping off the workers by writing a note but panicked when she thought the man tried to read it. Eventually, he left the store, and when Weaver told the employees what happened, they looked at the surveillance video and called police.
But after a fruitless search in the area for the man, Weaver says officers told her there was little they could do. That's when Weaver, focusing on the ID badge, decided to do her own investigation.
"I'm really good on the computer, so I started searching for two days and didn't sleep," Weaver said. "I finally came across his photo, and the second I saw it, I knew it was him."
LAPD spokesman Alex Martinez says he suspects many crimes like this go unreported because victims don't realize they've been photographed. But he adds, California law does not come down very hard on people who commit crimes like this.
"A suspect's history can come into play, but right now, the basic is just a misdemeanor," Martinez said.
Weaver was outraged to hear that.
"This guy can go and look at a private part, which is in my mind a sex offender, but yet he's charged with a misdemeanor?" she said.
Weaver said she wants the penalty bumped up to a felony.
Anyone with information that might help solve the case is urged to call LAPD Van Nuys detectives at (818) 374-0040.
