James Hulme, 57, chillingly stashed spy cams in his client’s home after they welcomed him in to carry out plumbing work in Nottinghamshire.One terrified woman spotted the covert camera system in her downstairs toilet and quickly alerted cops – who found he had been watching numerous other customers in their bathrooms.
Police raided the 57-year-old’s home and uncovered a horrifying stash on his devices, including 302 indecent images of children, as well as some involving animals.
Hulme, of Sherwood, Nottinghamshire, was jailed for 12 months at Nottingham Crown Court on October 27.
He pleaded guilty to voyeurism, making indecent images of a child and possessing extreme pornographic images.
His sick offending was only exposed when one of his victims discovered a spy camera attached to a sink in the downstairs toilet he had installed in June 2018.The brave woman confronted him at the property in Clifton, where he admitted he had hidden it there.
But he fled from the home with the recording device as the woman called the police.
Officers found him a short time later and arrested the perverted plumber.
He later admitted recording the woman and “five or six other” clients to fulfill his sexual needs, but denied accessing indecent images of children.
Hulme’s vile voyeurism was branded “a gross breach of trust” by PC Jonathan Cooper.
He said: “This was an invasion of privacy in a pre-meditated manner for his own sexual gratification.
“Hulme will have to live with this shame for the rest of his life. These offences were gross and his victims will no doubt live with this forever.
“I hope this outcome serves not only as a comfort to Hulme’s victims and their families but also as a warning to others who might be tempted to engage in voyeurism,” he continued.
“His convictions for making indecent images of a child and possessing extreme pornographic images should also serve as a stark warning to others that such criminality does have consequences.“Behind every one of these sickening videos and images is a vulnerable child being sexually abused by an adult in various parts of the world.
“The physical and emotional impact of that abuse can and does have a devastating impact on those children as they grow older and we are determined to protect other children from a similar fate.”