Hidden cameras: « Every time I showered I was thinking » watching me? «
The first time Heidi Marney was bathed in her new, temporary home, she felt that her were watching. « I had this intense feeling that they were looking at me, » he says. He remembers scanning the room. « It was a big, double bathtub and above, on the wall, there was a TV with a device hanging with a red light that was flashing. »
Marney sent a photo of herself to a friend, who assured her that she was a dongle (a component connected to one port on another device to provide additional functions) and said she had one so she could have a wifi in every room.
« The logic would tell me that if someone was filming me, there would be a camera in my bedroom, » Marney continues, « so I went to my room and looked everywhere – the wardrobe, the lights. I was meticulous. There was nothing, so I told myself that I was ridiculous. My landlord was the most polite person you could ever meet. He would never do that. «
Stops for a second and then sigh. « I will never ignore my instinct again. »
How did he discover the camera
This was the case in December 2019, when Marney had moved to Robert Holden’s farm house, which she had known for more than a decade (she was uncle of her half -sister). Holden was also known in the area, a municipal councilor who had won awards for his community services. « It was coordinating the relief from the floods, fed the elderly on Christmas day, he was tired of the lawn of older women, » Marney says.
Anyone can buy a tiny espionage camera and hide it in a mirror, in a fake smoke detector or in a public toilet
And now that she was in a difficult position, temporarily homeless after her departure from a difficult relationship, Holden had offered Marney and her 16 -month -old daughter a room in his spacious home, while she would try to get back on her feet. (It was something he had done many times for many others, taking vulnerable people at home).
He stayed for 11 months and in the end, as Marney began to think about moving and making an appointment again, she felt Holden’s behavior change. « She didn’t like it. He behaved like a curious, jealous companion, « he says. When she discovered that she was watching her through the Find My application, she phoned her aunt, a police officer who advised Marney to check the home for cameras. « I sent her a video from the bathroom and she pulled a screenshots of a sensor screening on the wall and asked, » What is the good? Why is there a sensor in the bathroom? «
Marney took a kitchen knife and, balancing a stool and two containers with paint, raised her hand and split the sensor. Inside, he saw the words « camera » and « microphone ». « I completely froze, » says Marney. « It was like keeping my breath. What is going on in the good now? «
« I felt ashamed, I felt disgust »
When he searched Google the serial number of the device, he saw that the « sensor » was a camera, specially designed to notify the issue that they were filmed. It had stopped being produced two years earlier, so it was clear that it had been there for some time. Indeed, it was later revealed that Holden was filmed women through hidden cameras for almost 15 years, creating an extensive digital library organized with their names. Last September, he was sentenced to six years and two months in prison.
« Knowing that he was watching me was awful – I felt ashamed, I felt disgusted, » he says.
« I remember staying at my new partner’s house after all this had happened and showering, » he says. « He had all these fancy water appliances on the ceiling. My brain said, « Are cameras? Is it watching me? » I just fell to the floor, crying with bends. «
Was not the only one
Holden’s condemnation of voyeurism is one of the few that becomes national headlines – but local news reports offer a worrying picture of the possible scale of this behavior.
Just this month, according to information by the Guardianone doctor was imprisoned for filming visitors to Airbnb, Glasgow for more than three years, using cameras in bedrooms and bathrooms disguised in aromatic space (one facing the toilet, the other in the shower) and a smoke detector.
« Knowing that he was watching me was awful, » Marney said
Other cases in the United Kingdom include photographer David Glover, who filmed more than 100 women using secret cameras in his Studio locker room.
Adam Devaney, who used a pen -disguised camera to videotape colleagues in his toilet in Northern Yorkshire, and Adam Dennis and Robert Morgan, who used hidden cameras to videotape more than 5,000 people in the landscapes in They continued and exchanged the images on the internet.
Worrying as long as they say studies and researchers
From January to December last year, there was a 24% increase in cases reported in the United Kingdom. This is partly the reason why the government is trying to tighten the legislation on hidden cameras.
Note that hidden cameras are easily available in specialized espionage stores, as well as sites such as Amazon and Ebay, and often resemble watches, adapters, photo frames, humidifiers and even disposable coffee cups.
Dr. Vicky Listter, a researcher at the School of Psychology at the University of Kent, confirms that the cases we hear are the top of an iceberg. Many of those who come to light have gone unnoticed for years – and few lead to prosecution. In 2020, from more than 10,000 cases mentioned, less than 600 arrived in court.
Research on the prevalence of voyage is fragmented. « A population study in Sweden suggests a prevalence of 11.5%of the life of 11.5%, » says Lister, « but smaller non -population studies in many different countries, including the United Kingdom, generally estimate higher rates.
« … until you become the victim »
A study in Canada He found that 79% of participants would be involved in voyeur if there was a assurance that they would not catch them.
Some studies in rapists and sexual killers have revealed a history of hedonobicity – up to 45% – but that does not necessarily mean that one has caused the other. « We know that voyeurism is addictive and compulsive, » says Lister, « so people who have done so will generally continue to do so until they are arrested. »
« Unfortunately, there is a strong lack of bibliography for this whole subject. I think this is because it is « non -contact » and is regarded as a crime without victims – until you become the victim, « he concluded.
