BeFinancial director Derek Anthony Grima faces Ballarat court over alleged upskirting of young girls

The director of a Ballarat accounting firm allegedly filmed kids’ genital regions at public pools, grocery stores, Officeworks, Melbourne Central, and other locations.

Accountant Derek Grima, 39, has faced court over charges of producing intimate images and possessing child abuse material. Photo: File

The director of a regional accounting firm has been accused of taking photos and videos up young girls’ skirts in dozens of public places in Ballarat and in Melbourne, with a court hearing up to 150 alleged victims are suspected so far.

Derek Anthony Grima, the 39-year-old director of BeFinancial, applied for bail at Ballarat Magistrates’ Court on Monday facing charges of two counts of producing intimate images, two counts of possessing child abuse material, stalking, and public nuisance.

The court heard that between October 2024 and February 2025, Mr Grima recorded or downloaded more than 4000 photos and 1000 videos, primarily of girls aged between 12 and 15, and a portion of which has been deemed child abuse material.

The alleged victims, the court heard, included people known to Ballarat police officers.

Mr Grima allegedly took photos of children on his phone using a certain camera application at dozens of locations around Ballarat and in Melbourne.

He was arrested on February 6 after police were alerted by someone at Officeworks who noticed him allegedly following a 12-year-old around the store and crouching down to take a covert photo of her vagina and anus region once her mother had moved away.

Mr Grima’s phone allegedly contained material taken at the Black Hill and Eureka pools, Kmart, Cotton On at Stocklands Wendouree, multiple Woolworths stores, around Lake Wendouree, at Loreto College, Officeworks, cafes, The Athlete’s Foot, JB Hi-Fi, Platypus, at Bridge Mall, Rebel Sports, Harris Scarfe, Schnitz, Coles, Timezone, Coles, Delacombe Town Centre, Timezone Ballarat, a 10-pin bowling centre, a post office, a petrol station, a Reject Shop, and at Melbourne Central.

Detective Senior Constable Jordan Gibson said he was yet to sort through all the material as it left him “feeling quite nauseous”.

The court heard the volume of the material was “unprecedented” for the Ballarat SOCIT, which handles child abuse cases.

Police said Mr Grima had “no boundaries or limitations” and the material on his phone was “nothing short of grossly offensive”.

Mr Grima was denied bail and will return to court on March 6.