WAKEFIELD DAD CAUGHT FILMING WOMAN IN BATHROOM AND COLLECTING CHILD ABUSE IMAGES
A 30-year-old man named Matthew Place, who was married and a father, lived a secret life that involved collecting thousands of repulsive images of child abuse and secretly recording a woman in her bathroom.He had hidden cameras set up in two separate locations within bathrooms to film a woman unknowingly during her toilet visits, storing these recordings in a folder with a suggestive label.
On May 22, 2021, West Yorkshire Police received tips suggesting that a device at Place’s residence had searched for indecent images of children on the internet.
During a police search on October 5 of the same year, officers seized three devices from Place while he was at his home with his wife and children.
Investigations uncovered a collection of images, videos, and bathroom footage stored on the devices.
The woman who was filmed was identified, and she confirmed she was not aware and had not consented to the recording.
The court was told that the videos appeared to be edited and then saved by Place, who claimed he did this to keep the files organized and out of sight.
During police interviews, Place denied the allegations, explaining he had installed a VPN blocker in late 2020 to access Netflix in the US and denying any sexual interest in children, stating he had never actively searched for such content.
When pressed again, he chose to make no comment.
The devices contained a total of 1,168 images classified as Category A, the most severe, along with 1,043 images in Category B, and 7,793 in Category C.
About 3,800 images were borderline or not illegal, some of which showed infants being abused.
There was roughly 25 minutes of video footage, and Place also possessed a computer-generated extreme pornography image involving a child.
He admitted to charges including voyeurism, three counts of making indecent images of children, possession of extreme pornography, and possession of a prohibited image.
The court noted he had no prior convictions and had pleaded guilty early in the process, with a detailed pre-sentence report compiled.
Judge Tom Bayliss sentenced him to a three-year community order, a Sexual Harm Prevention Order, and required him to register as a sex offender.
He must also complete up to 43 days of a sexual offending treatment program and 55 days of related rehabilitation activities.
The judge highlighted the serious harm caused by such crimes and the impact on children for the sake of Place's own gratification.
