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A pervert was caught covertly filming naked teenage girls in the shower after one horrified victim discovered a hidden camera.
Anthony Collins recorded five chilling clips by concealing his iPhone on a bathroom shelf in Gillingham.
The 40-year-old’s victims told of their terror at Maidstone Crown Court today after unearthing footage of themselves on the devices.
Collins was handed a 10-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to voyeurism and possession of indecent images of children.
A judge told prosecutors their request for £500 victim compensation was insulting to the girls, given the misery and anxiety they endured.
Instead he handed Collins, formerly known as Henderson, an £8,000 fine.
The court heard Collins stashed his iPhone in a cardboard box placed on a bathroom shelf and aimed it at the shower set to record in January 2020.
After feeling “something wasn’t quite right” one girl searched the bathroom and eventually unearthed the phone.
It contained an illegal video of herself and another of a girl who showered previously.
“They showed the two complainants undressing, having a shower and their fully naked bodies on the screen,” Emin Kandola explained.
Panicked and upset, she deleted the footage potentially destroying key evidence, however, Collin’s iCloud account would soon be found to hold five similar videos.
Of those, one displayed Collins setting up the clandestine device in a bid to capture his victims.
One girl told the court: “When I discovered the video my heart sank”, another added: “It has made me feel disgusting.”
The court heard Collins gave no comment interviews after being arrested the same day, and then pleaded guilty to both charges at an early opportunity.
Recorder David Jeremy QC ordered Collins, who is on £76,000 a year, to pay an £8,000 fine by the end of September.
He also handed Collins 20 rehabilitation requirement days, engagement on the sex offenders’ Horizon program and a 10-year notification requirements.
Mitigating, Niall Doherty said: “The defendant fully acknowledges his actions, refers to it as a moment of madness and offers no excuses.”
He added Collins, of the Boardwalk, in Pearl Lane, Gillingham, was deeply remorseful and had no previous relevant convictions.
Speaking after the sentencing one victim's mother said she was relieved the case had not gone to trial.
"It's an important issue that people need to know about," she said.
"It makes you doubt people. It was a relief that he pleaded guilty so it didn't go to trial. But I feel he could've admitted his guilt originally.
"Originally the CPS wasn't going to prosecute. I had to fight to get it to court.
"I had prepared for him not going to prison but it was still annoying and frustrating and I just feel he's got away with it a little bit.
"It's time to draw a line under it now and move on."
She added she was consoled by the fact Collins got caught when he did, meaning there were no further victims.
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