Eddie Catz Kid's Soft Playcentre Boss Spied On Girls And Women Changing Clothes

Camera Lover: Johnson

The wealthy boss of a well-known children’s soft play centre chain is facing jail after filming women staff undressing and female toilet users through peepholes at his family-friendly business. 

Darren Johnson, 51, resigned in disgrace from Eddie Catz after his double life was exposed when caught filming two 14 year-old girls changing in a swimming pool cubicle.

He founded the nationwide play centre, which has a tie-in with Mothercare, with his wife Maria over a decade ago and the couple share a £1.3m home.

Police raided the house and seized nearly 700 clips, mostly made up of twelve years of recording his Earlsfield centre’s female staff changing room and toilets.

At Kingston-upon-Thames Crown Court Johnson, of Rodway Road, Putney Village pleaded guilty to five counts of voyeurism for sexual gratification between January 1, 2005 and June 12, 2017.

His double-life was exposed when the teenage girls spotted Johnson filming them with his iPhone under the cubicle divider at Putney Leisure Centre on June 5, last year.

Court Date: Johnson

A previous court heard was told the girls were “very distressed” and police raided Johnson’s home on June 12.

Officers seized his computers, where they found images of women undressing during years of secret filming at Eddie Catz centre in Earlsfield.

Prosecutor Miss Lauren Sales told the court: “Two fourteen year-old girls had attended a school swimming class and reported seeing an iPhone 6 pointing at them under their cubicle while they were in a state of undress.”

They did not see Johnson, but spotted his distinctive rucksack in the cubicle, which was later picked up on the leisure centre’s CCTV.

“He was observed on CCTV walking around the leisure centre with no particular purpose,” added Miss Sales.

“He is the director of Eddie Catz, a soft play centre for children and more images were found that he had taken in public lavatories open to both adults and children at the centre via peepholes. 

“There are also images from the adult female changing room at the centre.

“They were found on computers, but from the way they were taken some would have been taken from a phone.”

There were also recordings of other unidentified women Johnson had filmed in the leisure centre’s cubicles over the previous six months.

Johnson’s lawyer Mr. Simon Ray said his client was married with children and of good character and receiving counselling from a psychosexual therapist.

“He resigned immediately as a director, gave up his shares and has not set foot in any Eddie Catz centre since.”

Judge Timothy Lamb QC bailed Johnson until August 28 for sentencing.

“I have not done a voyeurism case this extensive for a while, but the guidelines point towards custody,” he announced. “The likely penalties include an immediate custodial sentence.”

Until his sentencing Johnson is banned from all Eddie Catz centres; mixed use and womens’ changing-rooms; contacting victims, staff and witnesses and using a camera, phone or video recorder to take images.