A PERVERT who used a ‘spy pen’ for his own sexual gratification in the Metrodome’s changing rooms has been given a suspended prison sentence.
Simon Vicary, of Holmfield Avenue, Wakefield, travelled to Barnsley over an eight-month period to spy on his victims.
Vicary used a recording device disguised as a pen in order to watch people undressing at the leisure complex on Queens Road.
The 61-year-old pleaded guilty to nine charges of voyeurism at Barnsley Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday, offences carried out between May 2018 and January 2019.
District Judge Joanne Hurst was told that Vicary had led an isolated life, despite being a delivery driver for 35 years, as he was a carer for his elderly mother who recently died aged 96.
Ms Hurst gave Vicary a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 24 months, and ordered him to carry out a 40-day rehabilitation requirement.
He will also sign the sex offenders’ register for seven years and pay costs of £85 and a £115 surcharge. Compensation of £400 will also be distributed to his victims.
She added: “You spied on your victims and this had a big psychological impact, causing shock and distress in what they presumed was a safe environment for changing.
“Your mother passed away last week, but your offending took place before this and so cannot be used as a factor.
“You clearly planned this as it involved a specific location and was done over an eight-month period.”