September 2019

Five-year sentence for man who spied on girls

A man who installed hidden cameras in his house to spy on two teenage girls has been jailed.

Graham Bertram, 72, was sentenced to five years when he appeared at Leicester Crown Court today (Thursday 5 September).

On 23 August, Bertram, of Hill Rise, Birstall, was found guilty of:

  • •Two counts of observing a person doing a private act

    •One count of assaulting a girl under 13 by touching

    •Two counts of supplying a controlled drug of class B

In 2015 one of three victims, who was then 15 years old, visited Bertram’s home address. When she turned the television on, she noticed the picture on the screen was showing one of the rooms in the house. She subsequently went into that room, where she discovered a hidden camera.

She believed Bertram had installed it in order to watch her and reported the matter to police. The victim also said that there had been occasions whereby Bertram would also instigate conversations of an inappropriate nature and on some occasions had touched her in an inappropriate way.

As part of the investigation, two other victims were identified who both said that they too had visited Bertram’s address when they were teenagers.

One of the victims told police she also found a camera at Bertram’s address and that he gave her amphetamines and cannabis.

The other victim said that Bertram had touched her inappropriately.

Bertram has been placed on the sex offenders register and is subject to a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO).