Massa, J.
On February 27, 2010, Delagrange left his home in Fort Wayne and drove approximately one hundred miles to the Castleton Square Mall in Indianapolis. He then wandered around for nearly eight hours trying to take “upskirt” photographs of women and girls as they were shopping. After he selected a particular victim, he would approach her from behind and try to inveigle his foot between her legs. Once in position, he would reach into his pocket and pull on a piece of fishing line attached to the cuff of his pants leg, thereby exposing a video camera attached to his shoe. By means of this procedure, Delagrange collected approximately seven minutes of actual images.
Unsurprisingly, Delagrange’s unusual behavior attracted attention, and a store employee contacted police. After a brief confrontation, an officer arrested Delagrange and discovered his camera system. Detectives later identified four girls from the recorded images: K.V., T.G., and C.B., all aged seventeen, and A.K., aged 15. Those images depicted “the area under the skirt and between the legs” of the victims, but did not depict any “uncovered genitals.” Ex. at 5.
The State charged Delagrange with four counts of Class C felony attempted child exploitation, ten counts of Class D felony voyeurism, and one count of Class A misdemeanor resisting law enforcement. By agreement of the parties, the trial court dismissed the voyeurism charges, but it denied Delagrange’s motion to dismiss the attempted child exploitation charges. . . . .
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. . . At the time of the charged acts, the relevant portion of the child exploitation statute provided: “‘Sexual conduct’ means . . . exhibition of the uncovered genitals intended to satisfy or arouse the sexual desires of any person.” Ind. Code § 35-42-4-4(a) (2008). Delagrange argues that because the State presented no evidence that any of the images he captured depict uncovered genitals, it failed to prove an element of the charged offense.
We disagree. Had Delagrange been charged with child exploitation, his argument might have merit, but he was charged with attempted child exploitation. Under Indiana law, “a person attempts to commit a crime when, acting with the culpability required for commission of the crime, he engages in conduct that constitutes a substantial step toward commission of the crime.” Ind. Code § 35-41-5-1(a) (2008).3 Thus, the State need not show Delagrange actually succeeded in capturing images of uncovered genitals; rather, it must show that he took a “substantial step” toward doing so.
And whether Delagrange took such a “substantial step” is a question for the fact-finder, which brings us to Delagrange’s second argument: that it was unreasonable for the jury to infer he intended to capture images of uncovered genitals, rather than—as he testified—pictures of “high heels, boots, pantyhose, panty shots, [and] nylons.” Tr. at 203. In the context of child exploitation, as in other crimes, the intent element “may be established by circumstantial evidence and may be inferred from the actor’s conduct and the natural and usual sequence to which such conduct usually points.” Bowles v. State, 737 N.E.2d 1150, 1152 (Ind. 2000).
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. . . [C]an a jury infer that someone taking “upskirt” photographs of women and girls by means of a concealed shoe camera does so in the hope that some of them will not be wearing undergarments? We say yes. Delagrange testified he intended “to get fetish photography, which is high heels, boots, pantyhose, panty shots, nylons,” Tr. at 203, but the jurors were not required to credit that testimony. After all, one victim testified she was not wearing leggings. And on cross-examination, Delagrange’s answers suggested his interest was not limited to his victim’s clothing. When the prosecutor asked whether Delagrange intended to “videotape what was under their skirt [sic],” Delagrange admitted he did. Tr. at 223. When the prosecutor asked “what else” Delagrange had a fetish for, he answered: “I love the female form.” Tr. at 224. In light of that circumstantial evidence, the jury could reasonably infer that Delagrange intended to capture not just images of undergarments but also—or instead—images of uncovered genitals.
Dickson, C.J., Rucker, David, and Rush, JJ., concur.