Indecent exposure: Arizona man accused of exposing himself to others and filming women while they were naked
TEMPE, Ariz. - Court documents show police have arrested a man in connection with a series of indecent exposure incidents in the East Valley that first began in 2021.
According to the documents, police arrested 30-year-old Jovan Sims on May 4 in Tempe, but an investigation into the indecent exposure incidents that police are now linking to Sims began in April 2021.
In court documents, investigators say the suspect entered a fenced residential yard, and looked through windows to search for victims to watch him commit a sexual act on himself while holding a cell phone.
Sims, according to investigators, was later identified as a suspect. They say geodata from Sims' phone, as well as other records, show he was each of the scenes connected with the series of incidents. The incidents happened in Tempe and Chandler.
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Search warrant on Sims' cellphone revealed videos involving voyeurism, investigators say. In one of the video, he can be seen standing outside a woman's home, and recording her as she was in her bathroom, undressed. Two other video involved filming of women under their dresses without their permission, while another video shows a woman sitting in her backyard, completely undressed.
Investigators also say they found multiple photos of Sims private part in his phone.
Police officials say Sims was upset at the time of his arrest, and said he will not answer any questions, and only asked to know what his charges were.
Sims, investigators wrote in court documents, has a history of resisting police, as well as a propensity for violence. He is accused of multiple counts of felony voyeurism. A judge has set a $5,000 secured appearance bond for Sims, and he is scheduled for a preliminary hearing on May 13.
Court documents state should Sims make bail, he will be required to undergo electronic monitoring, and will be banned from returning to the scene of the alleged crime.
Alleged victim speaks
News that Sims is arrested comes as welcome news to one of his alleged victims.
"I’m happy that they have arrested him, and I hope that whatever the outcome is, that he has learned his lesson," said the alleged victim.
The alleged victim asked us to hide her appearance in order to protect her identity, but she said her home's surveillance camera system captured a photo of Sims, on the night he is suspected of breaking into the backyard of her Tempe home.
"I was right in front of the kitchen sink by the window, and all of a sudden, I just started seeing a reflection of a cell phone," the alleged victim said. "All of a sudden, the light came on, on the person. I started calling for my husband because he was already asleep, so as soon as I started calling for him and I went back, that’s when he took off."