Locations
Bishop's Way, Bethnal Green, East London, E2
Description
A landlord who secretly filmed his female lodger in the bath and had thousands of indecent images of children on his phone has been jailed. Oliver Fay, 45, had been subletting one of the rooms in his council flat to the woman for at least three years after she saw it advertised online.
Fay covertly recorded her in intimate circumstances whilst she was sleeping and in the bathroom. Various images showed that on some occasions he had hidden his mobile phone in a small black vanity drawer and the end of the bath.
Fay was caught when the National Crime Agency (NCA) received information that linked him to uploading indecent images of children to the internet. When the police went to Fay’s home address in Bethnal Green, east London, several of his electronic devices were seized from his bedroom and were examined whilst he was in custody.
There was a total of 9,831 indecent images of children, including 1,200 of which were the most serious category. Whilst reviewing his phone officers quickly identified that he had been recording his lodger.
Fay was arrested at the address for voyeurism and indecent images offences. He pleaded guilty in January, and was sentenced to two years and 10 months in prison for six counts of voyeurism between September 2019 and August last year when he appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Friday.
Fay was also jailed for three counts of making indecent images of children of category A, B and C and received an indefinite Sexual Harm Prevention Order. Category A refers to images involving penetrative sexual activity, while category B are images that involve non-penetrative sexual activity.
Category C includes any other indecent image that does not fall into the other two categories. He will also be required to sign the Sex Offender’s Register indefinitely.
Sentencing Fay, Judge Caroline English told him: “Anyone involved in such imagery, whether in the production, distribution or simple download is quite literally plummeting into the depths of depravity. Make no mistake, anyone who downloads or views such imagery is complicit in the abuse of those children because you provide and perpetuate a market for such material. You should be thoroughly ashamed.”
Investigating officer PC Lindsey England said: “Oliver Fay used his mobile phone to take images of his lodger over a period of at least three years. This was the grossest violation of her privacy and it cannot be overstated how horrific it must have been to learn that her home had not been the safe place she thought it was.
“I would like to commend her bravery and I hope that she can now begin to find a degree of closure and move forward with her life."
PC England added: “Fay’s sexual interests and predatory behaviour is deeply concerning and he paid no regard to the distress and humiliation that this would cause. I would like to encourage anyone who has concerns that they have been secretly recorded to please contact the Police and they will be supported."