Mark Hansen 45

Description

A pervert who covertly recorded young girls getting undressed at a holiday park has been jailed. Mark Hansen targeted two victims at the Northumberland holiday centre, lurking outside in the dark and filming one unsuspecting girl through a gap in the curtains.

A court heard recordings of a number of girls were found on his phone when police seized it for downloading indecent images of children. Now Hansen, 45, of Denton Avenue, North Shields, who admitted voyeurism and indecent images offences, has been locked up at Newcastle Crown Court.

Police attended his home in September 2022 as a result of information received and seized his phone. On it, they found dozens of indecent images downloaded from the internet over a seven-year period, with the victims aged between four and early teens.

They also found Hansen had made recordings of several unsuspecting young girls. One victim was filmed with a hidden camera as she got undressed.

Another unidentified victim was filmed by Hansen at the Haven holiday park in Berwick. Prosecutor Kevin Wardlaw said: "He used the iPhone to covertly record an unidentified female aged between 12 and 14 while she was undressing. The recording was made from outside a window, through a gap in partially closed curtains. It is apparent she had no knowledge she was being observed or filmed.

"His phone contained another unidentified female in underwear. This film had been taken without her knowledge through a window and the relevant time stamps indicate the time when the defendant was staying at Haven Holiday Park. It is not possible to estimate the age of the child."The court heard another recording was taken of a child sitting on a bench at Flamingo Land. The victim's underwear was visible during the 2 minute and 18 seconds of film, due to the position he held the phone and him moving closer to her.Mr Wardlaw said other images were found on the phone, including four that had been taken through a window, of an unknown girl aged between 13 and 16, without her knowledge, while was partially undressed.

Hansen, 44, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to three offences of making indecent images, two of taking indecent images of three of voyeurism. He was jailed for 18 months and told he must sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.

Judge Tim Gittins said: "These were images you took when you were roaming around Haven holiday park in Berwick, sneaking recordings in gaps in partly closed curtains and taking advantage of the darkness outside to take images of a girl while she was undressing."

Matthew Purves, defending, said: "This is a gentleman with no previous convictions or any interactions with the authorities. He acknowledges he has a difficulty with what he is attracted to and it's incredibly rare people will open up to that extent.

"The nature of these offences is inexcusable and he doesn't seek to excuse them in any way. He accepts that from viewing internet material his offending escalated.

"He acknowledges he has an undesirable attraction to children, recognising he has a sexual preoccupation and recognising he needs further support and assistance to avoid further offending."