FORMER LANDLORD OF A WELLING PUB HAS BEEN JAILED AFTER HE USED A CAMERA ABOVE THE URINALS TO SPY ON MEN’S GENITALS
Ron Hall was operating the Plough and Harrow pub on Bellegrove Road when, between February and December of the previous year, he used a hidden camera to record 106 voyeuristic videos of 16 unidentified men.The footage discovered on his mobile phone revealed that he had zoomed in on men’s private areas for his sexual satisfaction.
During police interviews, Hall dismissed the charges, describing the incidents as a “silly mistake” and claimed the victims wouldn’t have minded him watching.
On October 9, he received a nine-month prison sentence after pleading guilty to 32 counts of voyeurism.
Prosecutor Colette Hanna explained that the National Crime Agency (NCA) learned in April 2024 that Hall was uploading voyeuristic videos to an online Dropbox account.
He was detained at the pub on December 17 last year, and his phone was confiscated.
Police found images from a camera installed in a men’s toilet, which had been hidden.
“The camera was positioned in the corner of the toilet and in some images it is placed over the urinal.
"The controller of the camera, Mr Hall, was zooming in and out on the private parts of men as they used the urinal,” Ms Hanna said.
Hall had purportedly installed the camera due to concerns about drug use.
A contractor responsible for the installation confirmed that although privacy settings initially blurred the urinal, Hall had later removed these protections.
When questioned, Hall dismissed the seriousness of his actions, initially claiming “it’s not voyeurism as nothing has been distributed.” He admitted it was a “silly mistake” and denied deriving sexual pleasure from it.
He later acknowledged watching adult gay pornography online and attributed the behaviour partially to alcohol misuse.
Regarding the victims’ consent, Hall told police he believed they would have approved because “they are straight men who get their penises out anyway.” He also made jokes like “have you been watching my knob,” unaware that police were recording his words.
Defence lawyer Christina Barath noted that Hall had lost his job at the pub and was working as a bus driver.
She remarked: “He is incredibly remorseful for his actions and he said this is simply something he wouldn’t have done if he hadn’t been drinking.” Ms.
Barath added that alcohol consumption led Hall to watch the footage on his phone, often zooming in on the men’s genitals.
District Judge Sarah Turnock criticised Hall for abusing his position of trust as a pub landlord.
“This was a deliberate and planned operation where you directed the installation of CCTV and tampered with the settings to remove the privacy settings and used that to watch men using the urinal,” She emphasised that Hall showed no remorse despite multiple opportunities to do so and had minimized his misconduct by asserting that the victims wouldn’t have minded.
