bassethound
15-08-12, 15:42
Peeping Tom Declan Crosbie hid in a cubicle and put on a woman's voice when caught
A voyeur who ogled female members of the Chinese Olympic swimming team as they got changed has been spared prison, despite admitting that he spied on them.
A court heard how 25-year-old Declan Crosbie sneaked into the women's changing rooms at a pool in Leeds, where the team was preparing for the London Games, and peered into cubicles as the athletes changed.
A woman at the facility at the University of Leeds saw him enter the women's changing rooms and the swimmers also reported a peeping Tom.
When staff went to investigate, Crosbie's attempts to avoid capture were unsuccessful. "He hid in a cubicle and tried to answer them in a woman's voice," reports The Guardian. "He then came out and begged staff not to call the police before running away."
He later handed himself in to police and subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge of trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Judge Peter Collier QC asked whether the case could be considered under special fast-track rules brought in for the Olympics but was told that Crosbie did not realise he was ogling Olympians.
"This offence is technically an Olympic offence because the victims were members of the Chinese swimming team who were training at facilities here in Leeds," said Judge Collier.
But there was no suggestion Crosbie knew they were Olympians, said the judge. It seemed the sight of any woman "would do" as long as she was in "a state of undress".
Crosbie had previous convictions for voyeurism in 2005 and 2006 and was jailed for three years in 2009 after being caught trespassing in a student house. Judge Collier said that prison had not worked for Crosbie and that he would sentence him to a community order instead.
The incident at The Edge leisure centre did not stop the Chinese swim team from performing well in London, where they won ten medals, including five golds. However, there was controversy when teenage sensation Ye Shiwen smashed the world record in the 400m medley.
A voyeur who ogled female members of the Chinese Olympic swimming team as they got changed has been spared prison, despite admitting that he spied on them.
A court heard how 25-year-old Declan Crosbie sneaked into the women's changing rooms at a pool in Leeds, where the team was preparing for the London Games, and peered into cubicles as the athletes changed.
A woman at the facility at the University of Leeds saw him enter the women's changing rooms and the swimmers also reported a peeping Tom.
When staff went to investigate, Crosbie's attempts to avoid capture were unsuccessful. "He hid in a cubicle and tried to answer them in a woman's voice," reports The Guardian. "He then came out and begged staff not to call the police before running away."
He later handed himself in to police and subsequently pleaded guilty to a charge of trespass with intent to commit a sexual offence.
Judge Peter Collier QC asked whether the case could be considered under special fast-track rules brought in for the Olympics but was told that Crosbie did not realise he was ogling Olympians.
"This offence is technically an Olympic offence because the victims were members of the Chinese swimming team who were training at facilities here in Leeds," said Judge Collier.
But there was no suggestion Crosbie knew they were Olympians, said the judge. It seemed the sight of any woman "would do" as long as she was in "a state of undress".
Crosbie had previous convictions for voyeurism in 2005 and 2006 and was jailed for three years in 2009 after being caught trespassing in a student house. Judge Collier said that prison had not worked for Crosbie and that he would sentence him to a community order instead.
The incident at The Edge leisure centre did not stop the Chinese swim team from performing well in London, where they won ten medals, including five golds. However, there was controversy when teenage sensation Ye Shiwen smashed the world record in the 400m medley.