Man secretly filmed himself with prostitutes
ASUCCESSFUL finance worker who was earning £65,000 a year secretly filmed himself having sex with prostitutes, a court heard.
Project manager Tony Richards, 39, from Cardiff, was caught after he downloaded child abuse images and the police seized his phone, laptop and hard drive.
Cardiff Crown Court heard the indecent images and voyeuristic videos were found in a folder called “entertainment”.
Jason Howells, prosecuting, said officers searched his home on Heritage Drive in Caerau on October 16 last year and seized several electronic devices.
They were analysed and found to contain 10 of the most serious Category A images, two at Category B and four at Category C.
Prosecutors said the images were all videos and the Category A films showed children as young as one.
The officers also found voyeuristic videos of two women who seemed to be unaware they were being recorded.
Mr Howells said the police traced the women – who cannot be named for legal reasons – and they both confirmed they had not consented to being filmed.
Richards was arrested and replied to the caution: “What’s voyeurism?”
The court heard he denied the offences, claiming both women had given him permission to film them for an extra fee.
He said they appeared to be unaware because it was “role play”.
In a victim personal statement read out in court, one of the complainants said Richards recorded her in her own home and she did not feel safe there any more. She said she no longer works in the sex industry and is now struggling to pay her rent and bills with income from her bar job.
The woman said she was “shocked” when she was contacted by the police,
as her family did not know she was a sex worker and she was terrified they would find out.
She added she used to be independent, outgoing and sociable, but now feels like a different person, who no longer enjoys life.
The second complainant told the police she was “devastated” to find out about the offending, fearing the recording would be shared online.
She said she had never let anyone, not even a close partner, record her during a private act.
Prosecutors said Richards had one previous conviction for assault, plus cautions for assault occasioning actual bodily harm and shoplifting.
Richards admitted three counts of possessing indecent images of children. He denied two counts of voyeurism, but was found guilty by a jury after trial.
James Evans, defending, said: “His childhood was far from easy. “He did not have the benefit of a good education.
“He left school at the age of 16 and since then has done everything he possibly could to make a decent life for himself. He is an exceptionally hardworking man.”
Mr Evans said his client had worked his way up to become a project manager in finance, who was earning £65,000 a year before he was arrested.
The court heard his relationship ended and he will have to sell his house to pay off debts. Mr Evans said his client had not been diagnosed with depression, but was showing symptoms.
Judge Tracey Lloyd-Clarke jailed him for 15 months and made a 10-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order.
He must register as a sex offender for the same period.
The devices will be destroyed.