May 2012

Jail for pervert who filmed at Sawbridgeworth pool

A SEX pervert who filmed at Sawbridgeworth’s Leventhorpe swimming pool and used a mirror to peep under changing room doors has been jailed for breaching a court order.

Paul Hine, of Ware, formerly of Calverley Road, Bishop’s Stortford, also recorded women and girls undressing in the changing rooms of Stortford’s Marks and Spencer.

He had been sentenced at St Albans Crown Court to a three year community rehabilitation order, plus given a five-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order and anti-social behaviour order (ASBO) for offences of outraging public decency, downloading indecent images of children and possessing indecent photos in September 2007.

However at Chelmsford Crown Court today (Wednesday, May 2) Hine, now of Page Hill, pleaded guilty to two offences of failing to comply with sex offender notification requirements relating to going abroad on February 11 this year and for failing to register an additional address, that of a woman he was seeing.

The court heard that in May 2011, the 48-year-old was invited by a mum he met via the internet to go with her to her son’s swimming lesson at a pool in Harlow where children changed at the poolside.

Primary-aged boys and girls were “completely naked,” said prosecutor Samantha Lowther.

As a result Hine also pleaded guilty to breaching an anti-social behaviour order by ignoring a ban on him going to swimming pools.

Judge Charles Gratwicke jailed Hine for a total of three months. He told him: “You flagrantly breached court orders. You were cautioned in August 2010 for failing to comply with notification requirements. That shows that you are perfectly well aware of what you can do and cannot do.”

The judge also made a new Sexual Offences Prevention Order, incorporating the ASBO conditions, to last for another five years.