Reston ‘Upskirt’ Suspect Back in Court May 13

Michael Wayne Edwards, the man charged with filming women without their consent at the South Lakes Safeway in Reston last summer, will be back in court in two weeks.

Edwards, of Centreville, was found guilty of filming women and simulated masturbation in Fairfax County District Court in January.

However, Edwards’ attorneys immediately appealed the decision, which paves the way for a new trial in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

He has a motion hearing on May 13, court information shows.

Here’s what happened:

Edwards, who was employed as a trainer at a South Lakes fitness studio at the time of his arrest, was charged in August and September for two incidents.

The first incident was July 24, where the victim said she was in the South Lakes Safeway and felt someone someone bump her and then touch her underneath clothing while she was in the store.

The other incident was Aug. 5. In that incident, a woman said Edwards followed her as she shopped at Safeway, and then followed her down Sunrise Valley Drive as she returned to work. He also exposed himself, the woman said.

In the two cases, Edwards was charged with stalking with fear of death, indecent exposure, filming a person without their consent (three charges) and simulated masturbation. He was released on $2,500 bond last summer.

In court January, Judge Ian O’Flaherty dismissed three of the charges and found him guilty of two of the filming charges and the simulated masturbation charge.

O’Flaherty sentenced Edwards to one-year supervised probation and six months in jail.

However, Edwards’ attorney, Jennifer Raimo, immediately appealed the sentence. When that happens, the defendant can remain free on bond while the case is revisited in Fairfax County Circuit Court.

The Reston incidents were not the first time Edwards has been accused of a sexually related crime. In 2010, he was charged with several accounts of second-degree assault after he squirted semen from a bottle on women as they exited a Giant and Michael’s craft stores in Gaithersburg, Md.

Edwards pled guilty to one of those charges (the rest were dropped as part of the plea deal). He was fined $500 and given a three-year suspended jail sentence, Montgomery County records show. His probation period ended in June 2014.

Photo: Michael Wayne Edwards, Sept. 6 booking photo/FCPD