Christian Connor secretly filmed female patients at two hospitals in Salford and tried to groom a 13-year-old online , being 'compelled ' by his addictive personality and a foot fetish , a court heard . A mental health worker was branded 'merciless ' and 'odious ' by a judge after he admitted secretly filming female patients in hospital toilets and grooming a 13-year-old boy online . Christian Connor , 27 , was 'compelled ' by an addictive foot fetish to spy on victims at two hospitals in Manchester as well as to take secret pictures of women using the bathroom in a Salford house , a court heard . The mental health support worker was also found to have a cache of under-age and extreme pornography stored on his computer and attempted to persuade a teenage boy to send him pictures of his genitals . Judge Douglas Moore sentenced Connor to 16 months in prison and said : 'You behaved in an appalling way showing a complete abuse of trust , targeting young people and individuals that you knew . ' He added : 'Words like 'manipulative ' , 'despicable ' , 'merciless ' and 'odious ' spring to mind . ' Isleworth Crown Court heard Connor 's crimes were uncovered when he was caught after befriending a 13-year-old boy from Hounslow , west London on the internet and persuading him to send images of his feet to an email address . The boy refused requests to send pictures of his genitals . Officers traced Connor and seized his computer , which contained the secret footage he had filmed in Prestwich Hospital and Salford Royal Hospital . It also contained videos he had recorded in the bathroom of a house as well as child and extreme pornography . The offences took place between September 1 , 2010 and April 16 last year . Judge Moore told him : 'You were within the mental health unit where people are seeking help and need security and you showed a ruthless disregard for their well-being . ' 'You took photos of individuals when they were taking baths and showers and these people people thought you were a friend . 'You showed no mercy to those individuals . ' Police seized 411 images mostly made up of Connor 's secret filming , plus 12 more from the internet . These were category A , the most serious images . Connor , of Stretford , Manchester pleaded guilty to eight counts of voyeurism for the purpose of sexual gratification ; three counts of possessing under-age and extreme pornography and one count of encouraging the making and distributing of indecent images . He was also made subject of a ten-year Sexual Offences Prevention Order . The court heard Connor was 'aroused ' by his ability to manipulate people and said the images were for his enjoyment . Judge Moore added : 'This is an abuse of trust case because he worked within a mental health unit and he was a mental health support worker at the time . ' A mental health unit demonstrates clear vulnerability and one victim is reluctant to return because she no longer feels safe there . ' Connor admitted secretly filming patients at Prestwich Hospital , which provides mental health care . Connor had worked at Salford Royal Hospital as a mental health support worker when he was arrested . Connor was employed as an NHS support worker for six years , but was forced to abandon his degree studies two years in when arrested . His mother is an auxiliary nurse and his father , who supported him in court , a management accountant . Penelope Blake , defending Connor said : 'He was living in this secret world where he was compelled by this addictive personality , this foot fetish , to commit the offences he did . 'It was a manifestation of his addiction , his obsession . This is not something he will be doing again and he is nothing but embarrassed , ashamed and disgusted . 'From an early age he wanted to spy on everyone and this grew into addictive , obsessive behaviour . He says he gets a 'buzz ' from it and being in a position of power . 'There is almost an alter-ego person different to his day-to-day self , ' added Miss Blake , who confirmed Connor has sought counselling since his arrest . 'He has lost his sister , who says she wants nothing more to do with him , his girlfriend , his friends and the stigma of these offences will follow him for the rest of his life . He 'll be on the sex offenders register . '
Christian Connor was a mental health support worker at two hospitals . He secretly filmed female patients in the toilets and women in a house . Also groomed 13-year-old boy , getting him to send images of his feet . Connor was driven by his 'addictive personality ' and a 'foot fetish ' Student claimed he 'got a buzz ' from spying on people in the bathroom . Judge jailed 'odious ' and 'merciless ' mental health worker for 16 months . He was also found with under age and extreme pornography on computer .