September 20, 2019
A man has become the first person in Britain to appear in court charged with upskirting on the transport network, following the introduction of new laws.
As First Upskirting Case Goes To Court, Expect To See More Prosecutions, Says British Transport Police
Daren Timson-Hunt, 54, admitted to using a phone to take pictures under a woman’s clothing on the Northern Line of the London Underground. The charge specifies he did so “for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification”.
Timson-Hunt followed the woman out of Embankment station, the court was told in the hearing on Thursday. A member of the public saw him hide his phone under his leg to take the picture, then follow her up the stairs to film her again. 
Prior to April 2019 there was no specific legislation to prosecute for ‘upskirting’ behaviour with law enforcement instead relying on outraging public decency or outdated voyeurism laws.
The Voyeurism Offences Act, a bill passed after campaigning by victim Gina Martin, means upskirting is now a criminal offence in England and Wales and victims are granted anonymity as with other sexual offences.
Timson-Hunt, a barrister and former employee of HMRC, faces sentence next week –  and is banned from carrying a device capable of capturing images or recording except for a laptop turned off and carried in a bag.
Detective Inspector David Udomhiaye, head of the Sexual Offences Unit for the British Transport Police, told HuffPost UK that it could be the first of many prosecutions. 
“You can expect to see more and more people being prosecuted under this legislation,” he said. “We have zero tolerance of upskirting and other sexual offences on the transport network”.  This is the first charge secured by the BTP and the first charge in London since the introduction of the new laws. It is also one of the first cases nationwide according to the CPS.
A teenager, Timothy Boomer, who took pictures under the skirts of two teachers at his school in Northern Ireland was found guilty of upskirting earlier this year.
“It’s a big moment for the legislation,” said Udomhiaye. “As far as I’m concerned this is a positive step. We have a piece of legislation to tackle this behaviour where we didn’t before.” 
″[Upskirting] is not an epidemic on the transport network but with that number of people in a condensed space, opportunists will always see it as a chance to get away with it and not be seen.”
The BTP says it would welcome legislation updates on other issues including cyber flashing (where people are sent unsolicited sexual images on their smartphones on the transport network). Related... This Is How You Report Upskirting From Today, But Will People Actually Do It? Udomhiaye said he would welcome more tools for help bring offenders to justice. “We do the best we can with the law as it exists but if something was introduced by the government, or campaigned for, we would totally be supportive of that.”
The BTP currently receive two to three reports a month of upskirting and always encouraging more victims to come forward. “We will always take it seriously,” says Udomhiaye. “Every report helps build a picture.”
You can report an incident to the BTP by speaking to a member of staff or texting 61016. Udomhiaye says if you aren’t the victim you should also tell the victim what you have seen to make them aware.
The British Transport Police has seen a 26% rise in reports of sexual offending on the transport network since the launch of its ‘Report It To Stop It’ campaign.Related... New Plans To Tackle Sexual Harassment Against Women And Girls Unveiled 'The Images Were Used To Destroy My Life': Why Revenge Porn Needs To Be In The Domestic Abuse Bill 'Revenge Porn' Is Not The Right Term To Describe Our Experiences, Say Victims
Related Stories
Latest News
Top news around the world
Academy Awards

‘Oppenheimer’ Reigns at Oscars With Seven Wins, Including Best Picture and Director

Get the latest news about the 2024 Oscars, including nominations, winners, predictions and red carpet fashion at 96th Academy Awards

Around the World

Celebrity News

> Latest News in Media

Watch It
Olivia Munn Reveals Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Double Mastectomy Procedure | E! News
March 13, 2024
kUaEV1Kd3S0
Travis Kelce Shares Details From His Trip to Singapore With Taylor Swift | E! News
March 13, 2024
3YXi-Dgf4eg
Kate Middleton VIRAL Photo: Agency Addresses Photoshop Claims | E! News
March 13, 2024
S4VkO0TpkCY
Da'Vine Joy Randolph Plays 'Smash or Pass' With Iconic Moments From Her Career
March 13, 2024
vkPdJEF2BX4
Jean Smart Wears a Hotel Bathrobe to Present an Award to Hannah Einbinder l Power of Comedy SxSW
March 12, 2024
Bw7uVEYQev4
Lenny Kravitz Walk of Fame Ceremony
March 12, 2024
MlWq8BcnwhE
Dak Prescott Extortion Plot & Steph Curry for President? | TMZ Sports Full Ep - 3/12/24
March 13, 2024
jHFsrjs7OFY
A Japanese space rocket blew up after takeoff Tuesday, turning the sky into a fireball of smoke.
March 13, 2024
YkfJ3Qg8B7c
#KimKardashian and #BiancaCensori hung out at #KanyeWest's listening party Tuesday night!
March 13, 2024
EfwLLq6bx9k
‘Pioneer Woman’ Ree Drummond denies using Ozempic to lose 60 pounds
March 13, 2024
Omfjk1AlZ3A
Chrissy Teigen reveals her ‘boob lift scars’ in daring dress at Jay-Z & Beyoncé’s Oscars 2024 party
March 13, 2024
VxZ2qXAlpmU
Zoë Kravitz pokes fun at dad Lenny Kravitz's style during Hollywood Walk of Fame speech
March 13, 2024
j3-lcFu_1sQ
TV Schedule
Late Night Show
Watch the latest shows of U.S. top comedians

Sports

Latest sport results, news, videos, interviews and comments
Latest Events
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Atletico Madrid - Barcelona
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester United - Liverpool
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Inter Milan - Napoli
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Borussia Dortmund - Eintracht Frankfurt
17
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Chelsea - Leicester City
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Roma - Sassuolo
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Verona - AC Milan
17
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Genoa
17
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
SC Freiburg - Bayer Leverkusen
17
Mar
USA: Major League Soccer
Atlanta United - Orlando City
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
West Ham United - Aston Villa
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Rayo Vallecano - Real Betis
17
Mar
ENGLAND: Championship
Leeds - Millwall
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Las Palmas - Almeria
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Villarreal - Valencia
17
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Sevilla - Celta Vigo
16
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Darmstadt - Bayern Munich
16
Mar
ENGLAND: FA Cup
Manchester City - Newcastle United
16
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Fulham - Tottenham Hotspur
16
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Osasuna - Real Madrid
13
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Atletico Madrid - Inter Milan
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Barcelona - Napoli
12
Mar
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE: 1/8 Final
Arsenal - Porto
11
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Chelsea - Newcastle United
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Liverpool - Manchester City
10
Mar
SPAIN: La Liga
Real Madrid - Celta Vigo
10
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Aston Villa - Tottenham Hotspur
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Juventus - Atalanta
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Fiorentina - Roma
10
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
AC Milan - Empoli
09
Mar
GERMANY: Bundesliga
Werder Bremen - Borussia Dortmund
09
Mar
ENGLAND: Premier League
Arsenal - Brentford
09
Mar
ITALY: Serie A
Bologna - Inter Milan
Find us on Instagram
at @feedimo to stay up to date with the latest.
Featured Video You Might Like
zWJ3MxW_HWA L1eLanNeZKg i1XRgbyUtOo -g9Qziqbif8 0vmRhiLHE2U JFCZUoa6MYE UfN5PCF5EUo 2PV55f3-UAg W3y9zuI_F64 -7qCxIccihU pQ9gcOoH9R8 g5MRDEXRk4k
Copyright © 2020 Feedimo. All Rights Reserved.