Christopher Cole, 38, secretly recorded dozens of unsuspecting victims over a 10-month period in supermarkets such as Asda, in Blyth, Northumberland
A ‘bored’ husband who hid a GoPro in a motorcycle helmet to film up women’s skirts has walked freed despite making 59 secret films of women for his own ‘sexual gratification’.
Christopher Cole, 38, secretly recorded dozens of unsuspecting victims over a 10-month period in supermarkets such as Asda, in Blyth, Northumberland.
The married man made 59 videos – 27 of which were of women’s bottoms – but the number could have been higher as he admitted in interview to deleting some footage.
He was finally caught out when he was spotted by a shopper, who reported him to Asda security, and he later blamed marital problems for his ‘bizarre behaviour’.
Cole, who has a psychology degree, was working as an IT managing consultant at the time but has since lost his job after his offending came to light.
But instead of being jailed he was given a three-year community order and banned from possessing a camera, including on a mobile phone, in public places.
Sentencing him, District Judge Bernard Begley said Cole had shown ‘very little’ victim empathy.
He added: ‘It’s quite clear that this offence crosses the custody threshold and, in the ordinary course of events, that’s what would happen.
The 38-year-old was finally caught out by a shopper who spotted him in this Asda store in Cowpen in Blyth, Northumberland
‘Despite the absence of express guidance, I can draw parallels from other offences. What is clear from the guidelines is, when there is clear evidence to suggest that a person would be receptive to interception from Probation, that can be an alternative to a short or medium custodial sentence.
‘You’re an intelligent man, I hope you will learn from this experience.
‘You have already lost your employment but there is nothing I can do about that – that’s a natural consequence of what’s happened here.’
During a previous court hearing, Cole pleaded guilty to one count of outraging public decency and was warned he faced a possible prison sentence.
Cole, of Blyth, was initially caught filming up women’s skirts at around 3.15pm in Asda on July 14 but wasn’t arrested until he returned three days later.
In interview, he said he had been capturing footage since September 2016 but had deleted some of the recordings once he watched them.
He told officers: ‘Boredom set in and I did it to see what I would get. Initially, I did it to see if I could get up-skirt shots of attractive females.’
Cole, who has no previous convictions, also admitted that he got ‘some sexual gratification’ from the videos.
Stewart Hay, defending, said Cole had been having marital problems at the time and couldn’t explain his ‘bizarre behaviour’.
The solicitor added: ‘He’s an intelligent man. He’s got a degree and he was doing a PHD at university. There were problems there and there was some mental health issues.
‘His job has now been lost. This man was in the newspapers and, as a result, he’s lost his job.
‘This is a man who is 38-years-old with no previous convictions and he’s done something bizarre. There must be a mental health aspect to what he’s done.’
Cole was made subject of the Criminal Behaviour Order for three years and must pay £85 costs and an £85 victim surcharge.