A school caretaker has been sentenced to 14 months in jail for secretly watching young girls undress during a dance show at a school in East Lancashire. Stuart Martin, 50, who was the school’s site manager, was caught watching girls as young as 11 on a CCTV camera while they changed costumes in a corridor between sets.
Martin had not informed the dance group teacher that there was a camera in the corridor. He was only discovered when the school’s IT manager noticed suspicious activity on the CCTV system, leading to his arrest.
During the sentencing at Preston Crown Court, it was revealed that most of the performers in the show were girls under 16, with the girls Martin observed aged between 11 and 14. Judge Ian Unsworth expressed disgust at Martin’s actions, stating that he had breached trust policies and disregarded safeguarding rules.
Despite denying any wrongdoing initially, Martin eventually admitted to his actions. His defense lawyer, Emma Kehoe, stated that he had learned from his mistakes and had not reoffended in over two years. In addition to the jail term, Martin was given a sexual harm prevention order for 10 years and required to register as a sex offender for the same period.