Factory boss used ‘spy’ pen fitted with a camera to film women workers using …
- Lee Price hid device behind pipe in toilet so he could watch women
- Admitted planting the £30 camera after it was discovered by an employee
- Pervert was jailed for six months after being found guilty of voyeurism
By
Sam Adams
Voyeur: Lee Price, 36, was jailed after using a secret camera pen to spy on female employees as they used the toilet
A factory boss has been jailed after using a hidden camera ‘spy’ pen to film female employees as they used the toilet.
Lee Price, 36, bought the device to secretly watch his young staff as they used the lavatory at the Odeon Furniture Factory in Tredegar, Gwent – where he was production manager.
He tucked the pen, which was bought over the internet, at the back of a pipe in the toilet at the plant.
A court heard how Price set up the hidden camera half a dozen times over the space of three months.
But it was finally found after a woman employee spotted a light flashing on the pen after she had used the toilet.
She realised there was a pinhole camera in the top of the pen – and twisted it open to find a memory stick inside.
She took it to a local computer store where they discovered the USB stick contained 14 minutes of movie footage.
Notices were put up appealing for information at the Odeon Furniture Factory in Tredegar, Gwent.
Price handed himself in – admitting he had rigged up the secret spy pen bought for less than £30 on the internet.
Prosecutor Lisa James said: ‘At
first, Price said it was to try and catch a cleaner who he suspected of
hiding there to avoid her duties.
‘But he changed his story, saying he
was trying to spy on a woman and record her texting or phoning a man he
suspected she was having an affair with.’
Price, of Blaina, Gwent, was jailed for six months at Caerphilly magistrates after being found guilty of voyeurism.
Michael
Hall, defending, said: ‘He is deeply embarrassed and ashamed about
this. He accepts that he has caused deep humiliation and anger for all
those concerned.
‘This has been deeply disturbing for his family but they are standing by him knowing what he has done.’
He later resigned from the factory where he worked for 16 years.
Secret: Price positioned a camera ‘spy’ pen (similar to this one) behind a pipe in the toilet (file picture)
District Judge Richard Williams told him: ‘You were trying to gratify your perverted sexual lust.
‘The effect on the women you filmed is considerable. The word ‘horror’ was used by one when she found out.
‘In some ways this is more instructive than a sexual act – going to the toilet is something people expect to do in private. These were graphic moving images.
‘Your evidence was a pack of lies. Because of your perverted wish to gain sexual gratification, you invaded women’s privacy.’
COUNCIL WORKER USED HIDDEN CAMERA TO FILM UP WOMEN’S SKIRTS
Pervert: Christopher Hardie arriving at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court
A council worker who spied on female colleagues by installing a hidden camera to peer up their skirts has been jailed for 16 months.
Christopher Hardie, 51, set up recording equipment under his desk at Stoke-on-Trent Council’s environmental services department where he worked so that he could secretly film his workmates.
Hardie was found out when one shocked co-worker found the device. After his arrest earlier this year it was later discovered that ‘obsessed’ Hardie had been filming female colleagues for his own sexual gratification for at least five months.
He was jailed for 16-months on Thursday after admitting eight counts of voyeurism – which also included installing cameras at a house between 2008 and 2012. He must also sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for 10 years.
The court heard Hardie threw the
camera in a canal after being uncovered by colleagues while other
equipment was found in skips at the site.
Memory cards, USB sticks and three camcorders were also found at his home.
The court heard Hardie, from Stafford, had been kicked out of his family home since the allegations came to light.
Jailing Hardie, Judge Granville Styler said: ‘I understand the devastating effect this has had on you. You have lost your job and family.
‘But these are serious matters which give the public and victims great discomfort.
‘It was a series of offences which took considerable planning. You have an obsession that gives you sexual gratification.’
Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court had heard that Hardie’s actions had impacted on council staff – leaving them feeling humiliated.
In a statement, one victim said: ‘This will be with me for life. Words can’t explain the embarrassment and the mental anguish. I now only feel safe in my own home.’
By on 04/11/2012