'Upskirter' who used shoe camera in Colwyn Bay sentenced
A man who used a tiny shoe camera to film up women's skirts has been handed a 12-month suspended sentence.
Kevin Bacchus, 64, targeted hundreds of women and girls. He admitted five counts of outraging public decency at an unknown location in 2015 and Colwyn Bay in April last year. At Mold Crown Court, Bacchus, formerly of Rhyl, also admitted taking 111 indecent photographs of children between 2011 and 2018. Two of the images were in the highest category of seriousness. The court heard Bacchus, of Balkwell Avenue in North Shields, secretly filmed up the skirts of girls as young as 15. His equipment included a lens attached to the tongue of his shoe with a battery pack on his ankle and could be controlled remotely. Bacchus was caught at the 1940s festival in Colwyn Bay in April last year when a passer-by saw him placing his foot in strange positions and something reflecting on his shoe. A new "upskirting" law came into force after his arrest but Bacchus was charged under the old laws. Matthew Curtis, defending, said Bacchus had not distributed the images and many of his victims did not know what had happened. He said Bacchus was a "devoted father". Judge Niclas Parry accepted Bacchus was "ashamed and remorseful". He told him: "Over a period of in excess of three years you have repeatedly violated the privacy of hundreds of women. "You will have caused significant amounts of distress to your victims who had to be told what had happened, and were left disgusted." Bacchus must also be tagged, observe a curfew between 19:00 and 07:00 for three months and attend a course for sex offenders. He is banned from owning micro camera equipment unless built in a smartphone.