A MAN who used a hidden camera concealed inside a pen to film female work colleagues using a staff toilet has been jailed.
Adam Devaney, 35, of Selby, North Yorkshire, pleaded guilty at York Crown Court in January to 20 counts of voyeurism.
At the same court on Friday — where one of his victims explained how she was left feeling ‘degraded and violated’ — Devaney was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment.
Caught on own camera
In April 2021, North Yorkshire Police were called to a workplace in the York area, where staff had found a pen with a camera inside it in a staff toilet.
Devaney, who worked there, was arrested, while the pen, as well as his phone and laptop, were forensically analysed by police.
The pen and the phone were found to contain footage of female members of staff using the toilet.
They also contained videos of Devaney setting up the devices in the toilet and leaving, as well as capturing him returning to retrieve them.
Further videos and images of a similar nature were found on his laptop.
Police identified 18 victims throughout the course of the investigation.
In victim impact statements read to the court, one woman said Devaney’s actions had left her feeling ‘so degraded and violated that my privacy had been invaded’.
Another said: “I struggle to use work staff toilets or public toilets without being scared that a hidden device may be recording me.”
‘Shameful’
DC Jenna Hallewell of North Yorkshire Police described Devaney’s offending as ‘horrific’.
“The victims in this case have shown extraordinary bravery in supporting the investigation, particularly after Devaney’s shameful crimes violated their privacy in the most horrific way,” she said.
“Sadly, the impact of what he did will stay with them forever.
“I hope, however, that they will take some comfort in the fact that he has been brought to justice, and must now face the consequence of his actions.”