'Upskirting' Incident At Westfield ShopRite Ends In Charges

WESTFIELD, NJ — After a Red Bank man was charged late last year with taking "upskirting" photos of two women in a Monmouth County supermarket, he was arrested again and charged with similar offenses in a number of stores — including one in Westfield, authorities say.

According to prosecutors, Christopher Cox, 33, took upskirting photos of someone at the ShopRite Wines and Spirits on South Avenue East in Westfield on Nov. 10, 2021. This was the first of eight incidents that occurred, with some possibly involving minors, prosecutors said.

The Red Bank man is currently being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Monmouth County Prosecutor Raymond S. Santiago announced Tuesday.

Cox is charged with the following:

• Eight counts of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child.
• Nine counts of third-degree possession of child sexual abuse materials.
• Nine counts of third-degree invasion of privacy.
• Two counts of fourth-degree criminal sexual contact.
• One count of fourth-degree possession of a large-capacity gun magazine.

A detention hearing in the case has been scheduled to take place on Thursday, Jan. 19. The state has filed a motion to keep Cox detained as the case against him goes forward.

“The conduct being alleged and the frequency of the incidents associated with the charges announced today are equally concerning and disturbing,” Santiago said on Tuesday.

The prosecutor's office said the criminal sexual contact charges against him relate to his job as a plumber in which he is charged in two incidents involving clients at their homes.

A further investigation found that on Oct. 20, 2022, a man later indentified as Cox was seen entering the ShopRite of Shrewsbury on Shrewsbury Avenue and began following female shoppers around the store, using his cell phone in a manner indicating that he was surreptitiously taking photos of them from behind, the prosecutor's office said.

Cox was then seen exiting the store and leaving the area in a white Dodge Durango.

Then about a week later, on Oct. 27, 2022, Cox was pulled over on Newman Springs Road in Red Bank. After initially obeying a command from an officer to exit his vehicle, Cox quickly reentered the SUV and sped away from the scene, with the officer releasing his grip to avoid getting dragged by the vehicle, authorities said. Cox was found in Little Silver shortly after and taken into custody without incident.

An investigation ultimately led to the seizure of a large-capacity gun magazine and numerous digital video files in Cox’s possession, most depicting girls and women being surreptitiously filmed from below using a cell phone placed in a "grocery basket, duffel bag or other means of conveyance," authorities said.

Following the Westfield incident, prosecutors said another occurred at the ShopRite on West Grand Street in Elizabeth on Nov. 10, 2021. More incidents occurred at a ShopRite in West Long Branch, a Whole Foods in Middletown and many more.

The investigation determined that Cox was recently employed as a plumber, and the criminal sexual contact charges against him are connected to incidents taking place on Nov. 11, 2022 and Jan. 2 of this year, the prosecutor said.

In those incidents, authorities said Cox surreptitiously videotaped himself rubbing his pelvic area on clients while in their homes, in one case exposing himself and performing a lewd act.

This case has been assigned to Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Ryan Lavender of the Special Victims Bureau.

Cox was last arrested during a traffic stop in Shrewsbury Borough on Jan. 12, the prosecutor's office said.

“We are urging anyone who believes they may have been a victim of Mr. Cox to please come forward and tell us what they know,” Santiago said.

Anyone with information about this matter is urged to contact MCPO Detective Sgt. Shawn Murphy at 800-533-7443 or Shrewsbury Borough Police Department Detective Daniel DeCristofaro at 732-741-2500, Ext. 230.