Lying voyeur caught with child pictures is locked up
A lying voyeur who was caught with images of young girls in swimwear and a naked child was jailed after ‘absolutely flagrant’ breaches of a court order.
Southsea pervert Lee Downie – a man ‘terrified’ of prison – was jailed for 30 months after his ‘deliberate’ and ‘extensive’ breaches.
The 39-year-old was handed a suspended sentence in 2015 for voyeurism before failing to comply with sexual offender requirements in subsequent years.
But Downie, of Shaftesbury Road, was back in the dock for his latest round of offences after police caught him out during a surprise preChristmas visit on December 23.
Portsmouth Crown Court heard how ‘isolated’ Downie failed to notify police of devices including three mobile phones, two tablets and three hard drives and also failed to register three bank cards to the force. The court heard how the defendant claimed he had lost his phone and found a new mobile when officers made the discoveries at his address.
‘Asked if the phone was his he said, “sort of…I found it”. He said he found it and had lost his phone,’ prosecutor Martyn Booth said.
‘The police had not been notified of the device. The suggestion he found it was patently untrue as his phone was found on the same day and took away the foundation of his suggestion.’
During the search, an officer came across a picture of a naked 15-year-old girl and images of young girls in swimwear.
Bridget O’Hagan, defending, said Downie was ‘socially isolated’ before adding: ‘He panicked…there were a number of devices he should have told police about. He’s terrified of going into custody.’
But it was not enough to save him as judge David Melville KC decided to impose a 30-month jail term after six breaches of a sexual harm prevention order and three breaches of failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements.
The judge called the breaches ‘absolutely flagrant’ before telling Downie: ‘The discoveries do not put you in a good light. You were evasive and that’s putting it mildly. You did not tell the truth to police and as they went through your property more and more came to light.
‘The breaches were deliberate, persistent and in some cases extensive.’