MAGISTRATES in Haverfordwest warned members of the public that “heckling would not be accepted” as they considered the sentence of a man who had pleaded guilty of voyeurism.
The man from Pembroke was jailed for six months today, the maximum sentence which the magistrates have the power to impose.
An extra security guard was on hand in the court as the victim, and her supporters, were in attendance in the public gallery.
Gareth Rogers, 56, of no fixed abode, set up a recording device in a bathroom to capture images of a 27-year-old woman for his own sexual gratification, but the court heard that the offences could have started when the victim was as young as fourteen.
Rogers had pleaded guilty at a previous hearing of filming a woman in the shower, on the toilet and during various other private moments using a secret recording device, between December 1, 2011 and September 20, 2013.
Images were later transferred by him onto a memory stick. A third party, thinking the stick contained charity work, innocently found and ‘to the horror’ of that third party, it contained graphic images.
Due to court reporting restrictions, The Herald, cannot identify the victim or complainant in this case.
Following a complaint to the police sometime after the events took place, Rogers was arrested by police. The police also seized a HP Tower PC, a CD containing images, a laptop, a camera, and three other USB memory sticks from the address.
It was revealed in open court last month that these items seized allegedly contained indecent images of children aged nine and over. The court also heard that Rogers had a history of making and possession indecent images of children. He has previously served a prison sentence of nine months in 2000.
District Judge Parsons had warned at the previous hearing: “This case has the aggravating features of a gross breach of trust. It is an offence which has been committed over a relatively long period of time. It has involved planning, including the installation of equipment to record the victim.
Defending, Matthew Raggett told the court: “If the defendant could turn back the clock he would. He is deeply regretful of his actions. He acknowledges the harm, the invasion of privacy, and the intrusion this has caused. Clearly a gross breach of trust. The impact on the victim is unknown. In a statement from the victim there is no mention at all of the impact upon her. She has been let down by the system to a certain extent”
Mr Raggett continued: “Mr Rogers can not explain what he did. He is not admitting that it was for private pleasure. Following his conviction in 2000 for another sexual offence he received no help. He should have done.”
Rogers was ordered to register under the Sex Offenders Act 2003 within three days of the end of his sentence. He will need to let police know where he is living, or staying for the seven years after his release.
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