A male plumber from Lochristi (East Flanders) has been sentenced to 40 months in prison after he spied on customers and was found in possession of images of child sexual abuse. The plumber also stole USB sticks and hard drives to obtain intimate images of a female customer.
The East Flemish public prosecutor's office tracked down the plumber in May last year following statements by his wife. ‘In October 2021, the woman found two suspicious videos on the defendant's computer, showing, among other things, a naked woman taking a shower,’ the court heard. ‘The defendant admitted to her that while working as a plumber, he had installed a camera in a customer's bathroom without anybody noticing. The defendant then deleted the videos and removed the camera.’
A year later, the woman again found a digital folder containing pictures, including some of herself. ‘These were private images. She also found a USB stick and an SD card in the defendant's work trousers. When she decided to divorce her husband, after these facts came to light, her husband secretly installed a camera in their bedroom. Only by chance was the camera discovered. He also secretly filmed her through the bathroom door keyhole when she was taking a shower.’
Jail plus compensation payment
A search of the plumber's home led to the seizure of 2 SD cards, an iPhone 14 Pro, a laptop, an iPad and an external hard drive. ‘On all the digital data carriers, numerous images of sexual abuse of minors were found,’ prosecutors say.
Although the defendant confessed to most of the facts, the judge felt he did not show sufficient awareness his behaviour was problematic. The plumber has yet to make any financial compensation to his victims. The judge ordered the plumber to pay compensation worth 23,000 euros in addition to his prison sentence. The man also loses his political rights for a period of 10 years.