‘Stupidest thing I’ve done’
A 56-year-old who decided to film his neighbour leaving the shower says it’s the stupidest thing he has ever done.
Gavin Bruce Glasgow will serve three months’ community detention and six months’ supervision, after being sentenced in the Palmerston North District Court yesterday on charges of unlawful entry of a building and making an intimate visual recording.
Glasgow was fixing his female neighbour’s cat flap in July when he noticed the door was unlocked.
He went inside the Palmerston North house and upon hearing the shower was running, pulled his cellphone out and prepared to film his neighbour.
She saw him and his phone, said ‘‘are you serious?’’, and covered herself with a towel while Glasgow left.
Defence lawyer Jacinda Younger said Glasgow moved away straight after the offending and would serve his sentence in another town.
He had struggled since moving to Palmerston North from Tauranga. He was unable to find work despite having his heavy vehicle licences.
He had since been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, and research showed those illnesses could manifest in behaviour like his, she said. ‘‘It’s escapism from the illness. ‘‘That’s just my view and not him making excuses.’’
Glasgow had slipped an apology letter under the neighbour’s door before leaving, saying it was a stupid thing to do, Younger said.
Judge Lance Rowe said the offending was not premeditated.
‘‘You told police it was a spurof-the-moment thing and said: ‘It was the stupidest thing I’ve done’,’’ the judge said.
The woman was vulnerable, and the situation was a serious breach and invasion of her trust.
If Glasgow was going to jail, six months’ would have been a suitable starting point, the judge said.
However, the communitybased sentence would help him get the assistance he needed to ensure nothing similar happened again.