Timothy James Deramore Denver, 37, faced Manly Local Court on Wednesday, a day after being arrested for allegedly pinching the bottom of a 17-year-old girl in Westfield Warringah Mall in Brookvale.
He'd already filmed the girl and her two friends, aged 16 and 17, the court was told.
"He then effectively chased or followed her around the shopping centre," police prosecutor Louis Parfait said on Wednesday.
"They tried to hide from him and he wouldn't go away."
Security intervened and police soon after arrested the 37-year-old, who said: "I wanted to have sex with them and I wanted to get a girlfriend."
A check of his phone uncovered images and videos of the lower half of underage females in school uniforms and swimwear, the court was told.
"It actually includes footage of the sexual touching," Sergeant Parfait said.
That, along with witness accounts and CCTV footage, made the prosecution case "overwhelming", he said.
Deramore Denver faces five charges, including sexual touching and three counts of stalking.
No charges have been laid about the images.
Deramore Denver's lawyer said there was no suggestion any of the images involved upskirting, while the sexual touching had in fact been his client pulling on the girl's skirt "for a split second".
"If that is sexual touching, it must be at the absolute bottom of the scale," Ian Byrne said.
Mr Byrne said his client, who is not yet required to enter a plea, had been under the care of a psychiatrist for 15 years for schizophrenia but had stopped taking his medication.
An appointment with the doctor has been made for Thursday.
The mental health condition was a key factor in magistrate Alexander Mijovich going against police submissions and granting Deramore Denver conditional release.
The conditions effectively amount to house arrest, unless he is in the company of his mother.
"You can't even go down the road for an ice cream, get a carton of milk, unless you are with your mother," Mr Mijovich said.
The matter will return to court on December 21.
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