Voyeur electrician who hid cameras in women’s homes jailed

A voyeur electrician who hid cameras successful people’s homes and secretly filmed women successful their bedrooms and bathrooms implicit a 10-year play has been jailed for 2 years and 8 months.

James Denholm, 34, admitted a drawstring of offences which were carried retired successful Aberdeen.

He recorded immoderate women having enactment and others utilizing the toilet, showering oregon changing.

The offences lone came to airy aft 1 pistillate recovered a instrumentality hidden nether her bed. Police were called in, and the afloat standard of his crimes past emerged.

One shocked unfortunate - who was secretly filmed having enactment - told BBC Scotland News that what Denholm had done to her and others was "disgusting".

At Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Denholm admitted 15 offences involving 17 radical astatine assorted addresses, galore of which were nether the Sexual Offences Scotland Act, betwixt 2013 and 2023.

Two of the charges were said to person been committed successful the people of his enactment arsenic an electrician, portion others related to radical for whom helium had antecedently carried retired work.

He besides took photos and videos from extracurricular his victims’ homes, and filmed himself having enactment with women without their knowledge.

The offending against 1 of the victims spanned a play of 5 years. This included taking a enactment doll and lingerie into her home, dressing it successful items of her clothing, and taking photos of it.

He besides took oregon permitted to beryllium taken oregon made indecent images oregon pseudo photos of children betwixt 2007 and 2012.

Denholm was jailed for 2 years and 8 months, past placed nether supervision for a further 2 years and six months. His sanction was besides added to the enactment offenders register.

Sheriff Graham Buchanan said custody was the lone due disposal.

He said Denholm had committed superior offences implicit a lengthy period, and that it was wide galore of the victims had suffered intelligence harm.

Fiscal depute Kirsty Martin, prosecuting, told the tribunal a pistillate recovered a signaling instrumentality nether her furniture past year.

A hunt warrant was granted and it was past that each the worldly began to beryllium recovered by police.

Denholm sat successful the dock with his caput successful his hands arsenic the crimes were detailed.

Defence counsel David Moggach said Denholm had received an autism spectrum upset diagnosis.

He said Denholm was present starting to admit that it had been a superior breach of trust, and had assured him that the worldly had not been shared with anyone else.

“He does find it hard to articulate his reasoning,” helium added.

One victim, who is present 28, lone recovered retired past twelvemonth what had been happening erstwhile she got a telephone from constabulary to archer her that explicit shots were found.

She was targeted astir six years ago, and said the realisation idiosyncratic had been filming her and her past spouse was "horrible” and "gross".

The pistillate told BBC Scotland News: “All the constabulary told maine astatine the clip was that determination was indecent images and footage of maine and my partner, taken without our knowledge.

"And past further down the line, we got a spot much accusation that it was of a intersexual nature. It was mortifying."

She said she had suffered panic attacks since learning she had been targeted.

“I americium anxious anyhow and this made it worse. It has made maine precise aggravated that helium has done this to people,” she said.

"I person adjacent been checking rooms successful my caller spot – I support checking successful nooks and crannies, looking for cameras.

“I inactive consciousness I person not processed it. I americium ne'er letting anyone successful to bash enactment successful my house, unless I cognize them, oregon I volition bash it myself.”

Another unfortunate said she yet felt she had to determination retired of her level aft discovering she had been filmed getting changed.

The woman, 24, was contacted by constabulary and discovered she had been filmed successful her archetypal level chamber from outside.

“It was rather a shock. I evidently had nary thought of immoderate of this," she told BBC Scotland News.

“It felt a full usurpation of my privacy. I deliberation it's disgusting, I deliberation it's appalling. Who thinks it's OK to invade different people's privateness connected that scale? It's sick."

The pistillate said she was present overmuch much wary of radical astir her.

"I struggled a batch with my sleeping, I person had to spell done counselling, and it has had an interaction connected my studies.

“I ended up moving retired of my level arsenic I did not consciousness safe. I did not privation to enactment determination connected my own."

She said she did not privation the aforesaid to hap to anyone else, and said her connection to Denholm was: "Why would you bash it to me? Why bash you deliberation that was OK?"

Alison McKenzie, procurator fiscal for Grampian, Highlands and Islands, said Denholm had exploited a presumption of spot to summation entree to his victims during an "alarming signifier of behaviour".

She said: “He filmed respective individuals during backstage moments successful places wherever they should person felt safe.

“His depraved behaviour has had lasting consequences connected a fig of those targeted during this sickening campaign.

“I anticipation this condemnation serves arsenic a informing to others that we instrumentality crimes of this quality highly seriously."