A man who has been looking at child abuse images and secretly recording women for 11 years has avoided an immediate prison sentence.
Peter Newnham, 43, of Church Place, Brighton, pleaded guilty to four counts of voyeurism, three counts of making indecent images of children, possession of a prohibited image of a child and possession of extreme pornographic images at Swindon Magistrates Court on Thursday, October 2.
He appeared at Swindon Crown Court for sentencing on Friday, December 12.
Ms Luscombe, prosecuting, explained that officers attended his home in Swindon, where he lived with his wife of 15 years, who has been diagnosed with MS, and their two sons, on January 26, 2023.
They had received intelligence about multiple child abuse images and an examination of several devices at the property confirmed that Newnham had been downloading illegal material.
The 43-year-old, who has no previous convictions, was in possession of 465 Category A images of children, 513 Category B images, 799 Category C images and 124 extreme pornographic images between December 17, 2012 and January 27, 2023.
But officers also discovered that between this same period of time, videos were recorded on a hidden camera, which captured three women who did not realise they were being filmed in "various states of undress".
The footage was left on a laptop which his two children had access to.
In interview, Newnham made some admissions about the indecent photographs, but said he couldn't remember what he had searched for and claimed to only be interested in children aged 16 and over, but some of the images were of pre-teens and children as young as five.
One of the women who was secretly recorded read a victim personal impact statement in court, in which she described his offences as "sickening".
"Our world as we knew it fell apart, someone we thought we knew, we did not", she said.
In mitigation, Newnham's defence referred to a letter his client had written, expressing "sincere and profound remorse" and a "serious and inexcusable breach of trust."
He explained that the software engineer had felt isolated and withdrawn while looking after his wife and children and had turned to adult pornography as an escape, until seeking more "extreme material".
The court heard that Newnham claimed the camera had not been installed for the purposes of voyeurism.
Since being arrested, he says he has engaged with a therapist, self-funding his treatment, split from his wife and has had supervised visits with his children, who now live in Brighton with his parents.
His defence explained that Newnham still pays the mortgage and bills for his ex-wife to live in the family home and asked the judge not to send his client to prison, as she would be forced to move out, adding that he has a "real prospect of rehabilitation."
Newnham was sentenced to 22 weeks imprisonment suspended for two years.
He must also complete 35 rehabilitation activity sessions working with the probation service and 250 hours of unpaid work.
A sexual harm prevention order will be in place for 10 years.
"I sincerely hope you will not come back before the courts again, however you need to understand that if you do come back for any reason, particularly committing any further offences, you will go straight to prison", the judge warned.