A mobile phone salesman downloaded nude pics of women from their phones onto his computer.
A salesman for a mobile phone company downloaded images of two women from their phones onto his computer. The women had taken their mobile phones to his shop for repair.
Police charged Lee Hawkes, of Swansea, after they seized phones, USB devices and computers. Hawkes admitted to unauthorised access of data and was charged with an offence of voyeurism. 48 images of a woman in her 20s and 135 sexually explicit images of a woman in her 30s were found in Hawkes’ shop, ‘Get Connected’, in Brecon, Powys.
Rachel Knight, prosecuting, said: “Hawkes persuaded the first woman to invest in a new phone. She was concerned about losing personal information on it and he offered to assist her. Staff at the shop were allowed to transfer contact numbers but nothing more than that.”
Knight added: “When she left her old phone Hawkes saw it contained very personal, naked and explicit pictures of her. He put the images into his own phone before transferring them on to his computer.”
Police were called when a colleague reported Hawkes. The colleague was “gobsmacked” when Hawkes showed him the images. Worryingly, he added this happened “industry-wide” and that it was “normal behaviour”.
Lucy Crowther, defending, said: “He is absolutely ashamed of his behaviour and is genuinely remorseful. He was overwhelmed by the consequences that followed.”
Hawkes has been jailed for three months after admitting two counts of unauthorised access of data and he has been suspended for 12 months on a charge of voyeurism. He will also be placed on the sex offenders’ register.
PC Gareth Tanswell, who investigated the case, said: “People’s mobiles carry a vast amount of personal data and images these days, and they expect to be able to trust those that they give access to them for repair, maintenance, or advice purposes.”
PC Tanswell added: “It must be emphasised that these were the actions of one individual and this is a very unusual case but if anyone has any concerns or suspects that someone has accessed and used their data, images etc without their consent they should contact police who will investigate thoroughly.”
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