A driving instructor, an escalator and a camera

A driving instructor, an escalator and a camera

19 June 2013

 

SECURITY guards at the Forestside shopping centre knew something was amiss — but they weren’t sure what.

They had watched for several minutes as a middle-aged man lingered in the mall until a woman walked past him and onto the escalator. The man immediately followed and stood close behind the woman, sliding his foot forward until it was just behind the unsuspecting shopper’s feet.

The man rode up the escalator in this position before getting off and then repeating the same procedure on the way down.

The blond haired man with stylish black glasses continued with his strange actions for some time before the security staff suddenly realised what he was up to.

Thirty seven year-old Jonathan Gibson, a driving instructor from Newcastle, had a tiny camera attached to the laces of his shoes and he was surreptitiously taking photographs up the women’s skirts.

Last week Gibson, of Central Promenade, was placed on probation for three years after a Crown Court judge said such activity was rare in Northern Ireland but was becoming “a worrying trend” in the rest of the UK.

Gibson admitted committing a lewd, obscene and disgusting act in the Forestside complex on May 28 last year.

A prosecution lawyer said the attention of the security staff was drawn to Gibson by a male shopper who had watched him behaving strangely.

The barrister told Downpatrick Court that although Gibson went up and down the escalator several times, none of the women appeared to be aware that the photos were being taken.

When the security staff decided to move in Gibson bolted but his getaway plan came unstuck when he got into his driving school car with his name and phone number on the side.

During a police interview after his arrest, Gibson said that he threw out the memory card on his way home that day.

Police also searched Gibson’s home and found that he was not in possession of any similar photos.

Defence barrister, Joel Lindsay, said Gibson is a married man who had worked as a driving instructor in the Newcastle area, but that the publicity surrounding this case had affected business. He said that Gibson is now receiving counselling through his church.

The barrister added this client had thrown out the memory card because he realised what he was doing was wrong.

This type of “upskirt” photo has become popular after the media has started taking photos of Hollywood celebrities getting out of limos, Mr. Lindsay said, adding that there have been several cases similar to Gibson’s in other parts of the UK.

He said that in cases in England and Wales mobile phones and hidden cameras placed in rucksacks have been used.

Judge David Smyth QC said the incident was a matter of “grave concern.”

“It could only have been done for sexual gratification,” Judge Smyth said. “Women shoppers are entitled to feel safe in public places, including Forestside Mall.”

He said women who were targeted were unaware of Gibson’s photos, but if they had known, they would have felt “their privacy had been invaded and was violated.”

As part of his sentence Gibson was banned from possessing both a mobile phone with a camera and any camera below a certain size.

“I believe supervision is in your interest and the public’s interest,” he said.

“Any repetition of this by you would be met by a sentence of imprisonment.”