Guesthouse Voyeur Jailed

A voyeuristic hotel manager has been sentenced to six months behind bars.

Clarence Birkbeck, 67, who managed Kastle Court guesthouse in Newcomen Terrace, Redcar, Teesside, was arrested after a couple spotted a spy camera between two wardrobes.

Police who investigated found that the camera was linked to the Birkbeck's bedroom.

Birkbeck, who denied a charge of voyeurism at a trial, was sentenced to six months on Thursday.

In an earlier hearing, the manager admitted placing the camera in one of the guest's bedrooms but claimed it was only to see if the couple were taking drugs.

The couple, who have not been named, had stayed in the room for a week before rebooking for November 30 for two nights.

The woman told the court that finding the camera the morning after she had "been intimate" with her partner had "destroyed her".

She is quoted as saying that she "expected complete privacy" and "didn't expect anything like this".

It is reported that the camera was screwed to the wall in a gap between two wardrobes and had black tape covering the LED light.

It is further reported that police had found "quite and extensive collection" of pornographic DVDs and sex toys during a search of the guesthouse.

Although police found the live link was being taped, there was "no evidence" that anything of a sexual nature had been recorded.

Prosecuting, Anne Mitchell said that the manager "deliberately set up the camera to focus on the bed" to "spy on the couple's activites".

"Sexual activity took place and then a woman saw a camera in a gap near the wardrobe," she said.

Ms Mitchell added that the woman felt "physically sick" and "humiliated".

Handing down sentence, Maureen Rider, Chairman of the Bench at Langbaurgh East Magistrates' Court in Guisborough, said the manager had installed the camera for his own "sexual gratification".

Chairman Rider added that "this was done intentionally" and it "caused extreme psychological harm" which "may have had a long term effect on the couple"

"We note it was a serious breach of trust for someone running a hotel," she said.

Speaking after the conviction, Detective Constable Carl Wooding, of Cleveland Police said the incident was "very disturbing".

Birkbeck has also been placed on the sex offenders' register for seven years.

(DS)