‘Upskirt’ images case involving ex-teacher goes to jury

A prosecutor argued to jurors Tuesday he finds it odd that a former Evergreen High School teacher on trial for allegedly trying to take “upskirt” images of females, including students, claims they were mistakenly taken.

Attorney Alan Harvey, who is representing Matthew Morasch, repeatedly told the jury throughout trial that his client may have accidentally bumped his cellphone and captured the images.

“If that is the case, then his client is quite voyeuristically prone,” Deputy Prosecutor Luka Vitasovic said. “That’s a lot of accidents going on.”

Morasch, 42, is accused of shooting images of a then-14-year-old girl in his class, an unidentified female student and an unidentified female at the Battle Ground Goodwill store in April and June 2015. He faces one count of voyeurism and two counts of attempted voyeurism in Clark County Superior Court.

Morasch, who was a freshman physics teacher, was in his 10th year with the district when the alleged crimes occurred. He was placed on leave but has since resigned, according to a school district spokesperson.

Vitasovic reiterated during closing arguments Tuesday afternoon that several students saw what they believed to be Morasch filming the lower half of another student who was seated at a classroom table. The girl was reportedly wearing a dress. One of the students took a photo of Morasch while he recorded the girl from under the table.

When he was contacted by the school police officer, Morasch didn’t deny taking the photo but instead offered reasons for why images may be on his phone, Vitasovic said.

Although police didn’t find an image related to that incident, they did recover a photo and video taken of two different females in April 2015, Vitasovic said. One photo was of a student in Morasch’s classroom and the other of a female shopping in the Goodwill, he said.

Harvey told the jury that Morasch often carried his cellphone in class and that students would use it to take selfies and photos with him. He also said it’s possible Morasch could have accidentally bumped the phone, activating its camera.

But when the administration at Evergreen High School got wind of the situation, he said they were quick to assume that something bad had happened. Harvey also criticized the police investigation and argued that the jury wasn’t presented with the best possible evidence that police could have produced.

Harvey argued that the prosecution didn’t prove its case and was merely speculating and asking the jury to “take a leap of faith.” He urged jurors to keep an open mind when deliberating.

The jury will begin deliberating this morning.