10:00am Saturday 17th January 2009
By David Paine
A 52-year-old pervert was caught filming up a girl’s skirt while she was on a float at Evesham’s carnival, a court heard.
When police raided Robert Stanley’s home they found teenage girls' underwear, various recording equipment including cameras which had been hidden in a box and a bag, as well as about 4,000 videos.
One of those contained footage of a girl under the age of 16 naked in her bedroom which he filmed from another property in Evesham.
Stanley admitted charges of committing an act of outraging public decency, voyeurism, and making indecent photographs or pseudo photographs of a child when he appeared at Worcester Magistrates Court.
Sarah Stock, prosecuting, said a married couple spotted Stanley concentrating a hand-held camera on a girl, believed to be aged 12, during the procession of floats through Evesham on July 5 last year.
“The footage concentrated on the upper legs and thighs and the camera was deliberately tilted to show her knickers,” she said.
Ms Stock said the couple had also noticed a covert camera fitted in a black bag so they called the police who arrested Stanley and viewed the footage.
She said that prompted officers to search his home in Risborough Road, Bedford, which is where they found more recording equipment, videos, and numerous items of underwear - of which there was no suggestion any had been stolen.
About 300 videos were viewed by officers which is where they found the footage of the naked girl under the age of 16 as well as footage of four women in their underwear while they got dressed for a night out.
The court heard that as a result of his arrest Stanley, of previous good character, lost his job of 18 years as a house manager of a social housing company in Bedford and also became the victim of an assault believed to be a result of “vigilante action”.
Stanley was sentenced to a community order with a supervision requirement for three years and has also been made to attend a sex offender treatment programme.
He has been prevented from owning any equipment which can make photographs or pseudo photographs, and is prevented from making any contact with any children under the age of 16 without another adult present over the next five years.
He must also tell police of any changes in his life and was made to pay £60 court costs.
An order was made for the forfeiture and destruction of all the relevant items seized by police.
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