The Cornish Guardian
CORNWALL, UK — An ambulance paramedic has admitted photographing and videoing a female colleague while she was in the shower at work.
The woman screamed when she spotted a camera which William Chamberlain, 63, was pointing through the window.
At Bodmin Magistrates’ Court on March 27 Chamberlain, of Liskeard, admitted observing for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification a person doing a private act.
Gill Wilson, for the prosecution, said Chamberlain was employed as a paramedic by the South West Ambulance Trust working out of Liskeard, where the female colleague was also based.
The female colleague, who went into work early so that she could shower before her shift, noticed something out the corner of her eye when she began to shower on the morning of February 2. The court heard how at first she took no notice but then realised there was a camera pointing through the window.
She screamed, and saw the camera wobble and then disappear. Suspecting it might be Chamberlain, who had made comments in the past about her showering, she walked into the crew room and asked if it had been him operating the camera.
He denied it, but the incident was reported to police who searched his home and seized a camera and equipment, magistrates were told. A forensic examination revealed 11 photographs of the woman, complete with dates relating not only to the February incident but also another in December.
When interviewed by police, Chamberlain made no comment at first but later said he had done it as a prank.
Barry Hillyard, for the defence, said staff at the ambulance station were always playing pranks on each other and that had been his client’s intention.
Mr Hillyard said Chamberlain had completed 32 years’ service as a paramedic including 10 years on secondment to the Cornwall Air Ambulance and eight years as a motorcycle First Responder.
Chamberlain was sentenced to a 12-month community order where he will be forced to complete 150 hours of unpaid work. He will also have to register as a sex offender for the next five years.
Chamberlain is no longer working for the trust.
Copyright 2012 Cornish Guardian
All Rights Reserved