HONOLULU -- A local man pleaded not guilty Monday to being a video voyeur, taking embarrassing photos of unsuspecting women at Ala Moana Shopping Center.

Prosecutors said Tyler Takehara, 49, of Pearl City secretly video taped at least 29 unsuspecting women at Ala Moana center three weeks ago on Aug. 27.

Prosecutors said Takehara followed women who were wearing short skirts onto escalators at the shopping center, holding his video camera low enough to invade their privacy.

One woman spotted him and called Ala Moana security.

Using the videotape, prosecutors charged Takehara with 29 counts of violation of privacy in the second degree. Each count can bring up to a year in prison.

Takehara's attorney wouldn't talk about the details of the case, but he did say prosecutors might have a hard time making the charges stick in this case. That's because the state's new video voyeur law bans secret recordings in private places, not at public place like a shopping center.

Apparently police so far have only identified one of the 29 women on the tape. Without the testimony of the other women it may be hard for prosecutors to prove Takehara didn't have permission to videotape them.

Trial is set for November.

The invasion of privacy law was passed in 1999 after a local photographer was caught secretly peeping on his models.

A person is guilty of a felony if they secretly record sexual activity or nudity in a private place.

The misdemeanor, the less severe charge, is for trespassing in a private place or installing a device with the intention of viewing sexual activity or people in any stage of undress.