A 45-year-old man from the West Flemish coastal town of Nieuwpoort has been released on probation by magistrates in Veurne (West Flanders). The man admitted that during a Scouts camp where he was helping out as a cook, he secretly filmed others while they were taking a shower. He did so with a hidden camera that he had installed in the camp’s shower.
45-year-old man that filmed Scouts with hidden camera as they were taking a shower released on probation
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The offences took place in July last year while the 8th FOS ‘t Vloedgat Sea Scouts were at camp in the Limburg municipality of Beringen. The Scouts had constructed a shower for the group leaders and the adults that had gone with them to cook for them. A few days into the camp a hidden camera was discovered in the shower area.
The man reportedly secretly filmed another man and a woman while they were using the shower. The incident was reported to the police and an investigation was started to find the identity of the voyeur. For several months it remained unclear who had put the camera in the shower. However, in January of this year it emerged that one of the adults that had been at the camp to cook for the Sea Scouts had confessed to having installed the camera. He was detained and questioned as a suspect.
Not the first time
A total of 10 victims have been identified so far. Not only did the man secretly film at last year’s Scouts camp, but he also installed a hidden camera at the Sea Scouts camp in 2023. A search of his laptop revealed other cases of voyeurism that the man had committed while he was work. A criminal investigation has been launched into these offences too.
The West Flemish prosecutor’s office said in a statement last month that several victims have been identifed both among the man’s personal entourage and from his workplace. The man was dismissed from his job working for the local authority in Nieuwpoort after the offence committed in Beringen came to light.
Probation
The man was formally arrested by the Examing Magistrate in Veurne in February and charged with voyeurism. On Tuesday morning magistrates in Veurne ruled that he should be released on probation. The public prosecutor’s office will not be appealing against the magistrates’ ruling.