WA upskirter avoids immediate jail term

A man who admitted recording dozens of indecent upskirting videos of women and a child as they shopped in Western Australia has avoided being sent to jail.

Carl Douglas Wright was caught by security at the Centrepoint Shopping Centre in Bunbury in November 2014 after a member of the public complained about his behaviour.

Police found 26 videos on Wright's phone, which he had pointed up the skirts or shorts of female customers as they shopped at various stores throughout Bunbury.

One was of a teenager aged under 16, and all of the videos were taken on one day.

"These are women and a child who were simply going about their ordinary course of business," District Court of Western Australia Judge Julie Wager said in sentencing on Thursday.

At the time of the offending Wright was aged 21, very immature and under the influence of drugs, she noted.

"That doesn't provide any excuse but may provide some explanation as to why you behaved quite so inappropriately," Judge Wager said.

Police also found 40 images of child exploitation material, 39 of which depicted naked children, on Wright's phone.

Judge Wager said he didn't make any of the images and downloaded them in one session, but any child pornography offence was serious.

In handing him a 12-month jail term, suspended for two years, she noted he'd had a traumatic childhood and was turning his life around with the support of his grandparents.