A pub landlord, who installed CCTV in the gents toilet and secretly recorded close-up images of his customers using the urinals, was jailed for nine months today.
Court In The Act: Ron Hall Outside Bromley Magistrates'
Under the pretence of combating drug use at the popular south-east London pub Ronald Hall, 50, persuaded brewery bosses to install a CCTV camera by the toilet door.
However, once contractors arrived he insisted they place the camera inside the lavatory and then deliberately disabled a privacy function, which allowed him a full view of the urinals.
He pleaded guilty at Bromley Magistrates’ Court to thirty-two counts of voyeurism at the Plough & Harrow pub, Bellegrove Road, Welling between February 20 and December 6, last year.
Hall, of Stanley Road, Folkestone, lost his accommodation and job when arrested at the pub on December 17 and moved to the Kent coast where he got a job as a bus driver.
“Your attitude demonstrates a woeful lack of respect for privacy,” District Judge Sarah Turnock told an obviously shocked Hall. “There must be a sentencing uplift to reflect the sheer volume and scale of your actions.
“There is no realistic prospect of rehabilitation. When given the opportunity to express remorse you have refused to do so and minimised your actions and behaviour and suggested that people would not have even minded.”
Prosecutor Colette Hanna told the court the National Crime Agency alerted police to an online dropbox containing potentially illegal images and recordings that were traced to Hall.
Officers seized and examined his mobile phone, which contained recordings from the pub’s toilet with sixteen male victims identified.
The thirty-two charges relate to Hall recording each of those sixteen victims and operating equipment to observe them.
Hall was able to use his phone to remotely zoom in to the urinals and record footage of his customers using them.
When questioned by the officers he claimed: “It’s not voyeurism because it is not distributed.”
Sunglasses Ron: Future Not Bright
“He admitted it was a ‘silly mistake’ and denied it was for sexual gratification,” added Ms Hanna.
Hall admitted going online to seek adult gay porn, but claimed when he clicked a link his dropbox was immediately shut down.
The landlord said it was common knowledge amongst regulars that there was a CCTV camera in the toilet and they would joke: “Have you been watching my k***?”
In total police found 105 separate video clips, with Hall claiming his customers “would not be bothered” by the recordings.
“He made light of it and thought there was nothing wrong with what he was doing and they would have consented anyway because they knew they were being filmed,” said Ms Hanna.
“There is planning and persistence and apparently a lack of remorse.”
District Judge Turnock announced: “He deliberately disconnected the privacy settings of the contractors. This seemed to have been planned throughout.
“The offences are very serious and I am satisfied there are factors that raise culpability.
“There was a significant degree of planning by you, that is overwhelmingly clear to me,” she told Hall.
“Added to that the images were shared on your dropbox and accessed at your convenience as you abused your position as the landlord of a public house to record customers.
“You directed the installation and then tampered with the CCTV camera to remove the privacy settings order to view mens’ genitalia.”
The CCTV system came with a ‘grey area’ that prevented users having a clear view of the urinals on the screen, but this was removed by the landlord.
Hall was unprepared for a prison after the pre-sentence report (PSR) recommended a non-custodial disposal of the case and failed to bring his medication and overnight bag.
“Who is going to look after my animals? I have got no-one to look after my dog and parrot,” he complained. “My car is in the car park. How are we going to sort that out?”
His lawyer Christina Barath told the court: “He has shown a lot more remorse for his actions than is in the PSR. He does not think probation wrote down everything he said.
“He no longer works at the pub and is a bus driver and would not have done this if he had not been drinking. This has had a massive impact on his life.
“CCTV was only in the toilet due to drug use and he accessed the CCTV when he was drunk through his phone and zoomed in using his phone.
“He appreciates the severity of his actions and accepts the seriousness of this and that he could receive a custodial sentence.”
The lawyer said Hall attempted suicide before his first court appearance and its currently on an increased prescription for depression.
“Custody would impact his physical and mental health,” added Ms Barath. “He would lose his home and has complex needs and is vulnerable.”
Hall has also had liver and kidney issues and suffered abuse as a teenager, the court heard.
District Judge Turnock also ordered Hall to sign the sex offenders register for ten years; made him subject to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order and he must pay £85 costs and £187 victim surcharge.
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