ExxonMobil employee took ‘upskirt’ photos, officials say. There may be more victims

A former Exxon Mobil employee is accused of secretly taking “upskirt” photos of female coworkers over at least a year, according to authorities in Texas. And there may be more victims.

The employee, identified by Harris County Constable Precinct 4 as 30-year-old Zachary Butler, was an executive with ExxonMobil, KIAH reported. He was based at the oil and gas corporation’s campus in Spring, Texas, just outside of Houston.

Investigators were called to the office earlier this year following an internal investigation by the company, according to a Nov. 15 news release from Constable Mark Herman. The company reported that Butler “had taken multiple illegal photographs of female employees without their consent or knowledge.”

He’s accused of recording women from about July 2020 through October 2021, according to court records.

“The company condemns these actions,” an ExxonMobil spokesperson told McClatchy News. “We have a zero tolerance policy of any form of harassment in the workplace.”

In a probable cause statement, authorities said the company’s global security team opened an investigation after two female employee’s complained about Butler’s conduct.

The ExxonMobil investigators learned the man “frequently asked female coworkers to go with him to buy coffee or to take walks after long periods of sitting,” according to court records. During the walks, authorities said he’d recommend they take an enclosed set of stairs.

“(Officials) learned that female employees were generally more comfortable taking the interior stairs whenever they were wearing skirts because the other stairs on campus and the elevators were transparent glass and could have caused them to be inadvertently exposed to others,” authorities said.

One of the female employees said she once felt something touch the back of her legs below the hem of her dress or skirt during a walk with Butler, according to court documents. She now believes it was his phone with its camera aimed up her clothes.

Butler originally denied the allegations in October 2021, officials said, but he agreed to let the security team review his phone and email accounts. He also let ExxonMobil send his phone to a vendor for analysis.

Authorities found the employee had uninstalled a “Private Photo Vault” app from his phone in August 2021. A forensic examination found he had uploaded 35 pictures and 25 videos to the app, many of which were “upskirt,” according to the charging document.

“Butler admitted to taking upskirt videos of several of his coworkers” to the security advisors, officials said.

Following the internal investigation, the findings were taken to law enforcement for a criminal investigation.

On Nov. 11, Butler was arrested and booked into jail on two counts of felony invasive visual recording, according to the news release. Court records show he made his bond.

“Investigators believe there may be other victims related to this suspect and urge anyone who may have knowledge or has been a victim to contact our dispatch at 281-376-3472,” Constable Herman said.