Duluth man given jail time for upskirt shots taken at graduation ceremony

MINNEAPOLIS — A Duluth man was sentenced to 120 days in jail for taking upskirt shots at a highschool graduation ceremony at the University of Minnesota Mariucci Arena in 2024.

Benjamin Thomas Goldsmith, 33, was convicted of three felony counts of possessing pornographic work and one count of intefering with privacy, a misdemeanor. One misdemeanor count of interfering with privacy was dismissed per a plea agreement with the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.

Goldsmith, was sentenced to spend 120 days in jail and is required to complete sex offender treatment by District Judge Hilary Caligiuri. A 25-month prison sentence will be stayed for three years, provided Goldsmith comply with the deal's conditions, which include no contact with children and restrictions on his internet use. He was credited with nine days served.

Goldsmith used a camera hidden inside a box, which he covered with a sweatshirt, to take pictures and videos up the dresses of women and girls attending the graduation ceremony in June 2024, according to the criminal complaint signed by U of M Police Officer Bethany Thomas and Hennepin County prosecutor Dominic Haik.

Police were initially notified about Goldsmith’s erratic behavior by an off duty federal officer attending the ceremony who was concerned Goldsmith was armed and intended to be an active shooter.

Goldsmith was detained several blocks away from Mariucci Arena and a subsequent search of his belongings revealed the hidden camera, along with SD cards, which contained videos of 144 different females he had recorded at different graduations at the arena earlier that month.

An attempt to suppress the evidence obtained by police following Goldsmith’s detainment was denied in an 18-page order by Judge Caligiuri earlier this month.

While Goldsmith was not armed, the fact that police suspected him of being armed was sufficient cause to search his sweatshirt, according to Caligirui.