A nurse sunbathing in a picturesque grounds of a churchyard had no idea she was being secretly filmed by a pervert ‘upskirter’.
Grey haired Larry Lattimer was using secret video camera to film up the woman’s dress.
But after being alerted to what was going, police arrived at the churchyard and asked to see the camera.
They saw for themselves the images 66-year-old Lattimer had filmed.
And also found on the video camera were scores of similar video clips Lattimer had filmed of women in the grounds of the historic St Mary’s Church in the market town of Hitchin in Hertfordshire.
St Albans crown court was told that when the officers asked Lattimer why he had filmed the women, he replied “I suppose voyeurism, I suppose a fetish.”
Prosecutor Geoffrey Porter said the officers were able to locate the nurse who was still sunbathing in the churchyard and when they told her what he’d been up to she told them she felt “freaked out, sick and violated.”
As a result Lattimer appeared at St Albans Crown Court for sentence on Wednesday, February 17, 2021, when he admitted 11 offences of recording an image under clothing to observe another without consent
He asked for 131 similar offences to be taken into consideration.
The court heard that from examining the defendant’s video camera the officers could see he had been filming mainly middle-aged women relaxing in the churchyard from July 2019 up until his arrest on August 8 last year.
The clips showed his camera panning up skirts and recording images between his victim’s legs
The churchyard of the medieval church with its tower dating back to 1190, is a picture postcard setting, with a grassy open area sloping down to the River Hiz and an ancient Weeping Willow tree by the bank
In summer it’s a popular spot for sunbathers and families in the centre of the town and close to where where many of the scenes from the hit BBC drama, “Doctor Foster” were filmed.
Mr Porter told how on August 8, last year which was a warm sunny day, Lattimer from Luton, Bedfordshire was once more in the churchyard.
“A member of the public saw him with the video and he appeared to be filming people using a ruck sack and bag to conceal the camera.
“The police were called and found him lying on the grass,” he said.
The prosecutor said after examining the camera the officers were able to locate the nurse who was still sunbathing on the grass.
“This incident has left her feeling disturbed,” said Mr Porter.
“She feels she can’t go out and relax in public spaces in case something like this happens again, “ he added
In a victim impact statement the woman, who is an NHS nurse and who on the day it happened was enjoying a rare day off in the middle of the Covid 19 pandemic, said: “He took advantage of me and recorded up my skirt which absolutely disgusts me”
Mr Porter said the nurse lives in a flat and in summer the grassy area of the churchyard was one of the spots she could go to and relax and enjoy the sunshine.
He said she now had concerns about what clothes to put on in the warm weather, and whether she should go go back to the churchyard.
Andrew Corcutt defending said: “He is appalled by this conduct and deeply ashamed of what he’s done.”
The court was told Lattimer, a father and a grandfather had found himself “emotionally isolated” after his marriage had ended.
He had formed a new relationship, but that too had finished, said his barrister.
Mr Corcutt told the court his client had now decided he would not buy any device capeable of videoing or capturing images, and since his arrest was using only a simple mobile phone which couldn’t take videos or photographs.
Passing sentence Judge Michael Kay QC told Lattimer when police officers looked at his video camera they had been able to identify the nurse he had been secretly filming.
“You had been trying to video up her skirt,” said the judge which he said was an offence sometimes referred to as “upskirting.”
He said what he’d done to the woman that day had deeply affected her.
“She finds in difficult to go out into Hitchin town and relax in public places. She feels violated. She feels you took advantage of what was her enjoying some time in the sun.”
Judge Kay said the woman was an NHS nurse, who because of the pandemic, had been working tirelessly with limited days off to rest and recover.
He said the fact that she had become one if his victims a victim on one of her much needed days off made the offence “particularly grievous.”
The judge said he was struggling to understand Lattimer’s behaviour, but he said a pre-sentence report that had been compiled suggested he’d had the desire to obtain sexual gratification.
“You describe your activities as a fetish,” said the judge who told him he had enjoyed the stimulation of capturing the images covertly.
“These were in a churchyard where people were seeking to enjoy the good weather. The images were made over a long period of time.”
He sentenced Lattimer to four months imprisonment which was suspended for two years and ordered he attend a sexual offending programme and complete a 20 day Rehabilitation Activity Requirement which will also address his offending.
Lattimer was told for the next three months he will be on a home curfew between 7pm and 7am and his name will go on the sex offenders register for the next seven years.
The judge ordered the forfeiture and destruction of the video camera
