A mum said she feels ‘violated’ and ‘betrayed’ by a neighbour and friend who stole CCTV footage of her naked in her own home.
Pete Tomlinson, 56, had got to know the mother-of-two, who wants to remain anonymous, after he moved next door to her in Broxtowe, Nottingham 15 years ago
They became good friends, and she let him into her home to help with odd jobs, clean, look after her pets and even gave him his own key.
However, after he helped set up CCTV cameras in her home, he started secretly taking an SD card from one of them and downloading photos of her.
Police later discovered around 2,000 images of her on his device that he had stolen over eight months, including a number where she was either naked, partially dressed or on the toilet.
Tomlinson, who has previously served time in jail for child sex offences, pleaded guilty to a charge of unauthorised access to computer material as an alternative to voyeurism.
He was handed 16-month prison term suspended for two years at Nottingham Crown Court.
The woman has slammed the justice system for allowing him to walk free.
(Picture: Nottinghamshire Live/BPM Media)
‘After everything he has done to me and my children, the fear, the trauma, the lasting damage and he is still walking free while we are left to pick up the pieces of our lives.
‘The system that was supposed to protect us has instead made us feel invisible, as if what we have suffered does not matter.
The woman said Tomlinson had been well liked in the area, and often helped neighbours with DIY and other jobs, the Mirror reports.
She became close, even describing him as ‘family’, and her sons would often play with his children.
When she noticed a wad of cash was missing in 2022 she asked Tomlinson to install internal security cameras for her.
Around a year later, in 2023, the app on her phone that was connected to her home security system appeared to be glitching.
While she checked the camera roll she noticed Tomlinson looking back at her through the lens and became suspicious.
She decided to install hidden cameras and told Tomlinson she was going out one evening, but instead went to a hotel to watch the footage live.
It was then she caught him unplugging a camera and taking the SD card.
She said: ‘At this point I don’t know who he is anymore. He’s broken my trust, he’s not who I thought he was, he was family, but he’s not anymore. He’s stolen from me and he’s watching us secretly.’
The mum reported him to police and officers searched his house. He was arrested and charged.
Sentencing him, recorder Sacha Ackland said: ‘It is not a sex offence but the offence clearly had a sexual motive. There were over 2,000 images of the victim naked, and partially-dressed.
‘She trusted you and your actions abused that trust. In her victim impact statement she talks about her anxiety and how she feels unsafe in her own home. She says she is now scared and in her own words “she feels destroyed”.’
Speaking after the sentencing, the woman said: The mum, who has asked not to be named, said: ‘I have so many unanswered questions. Why did he do this to me? Why did he save those photos of me? Has he shared those images with anybody?
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‘He has left me feeling scared to trust anybody and I feel violated and vulnerable. I feel so hurt, betrayed and extremely sad and I feel stupid for trusting him.’
Nick Walsh, mitigation, said his client has not lived in Broxtowe Lane since the offence came to light two years ago. He said Tomlinson now only has access to his two children through social services.
The defence barrister said: ‘He knows it was a deliberate decision to take the SD card and his actions have turned his life and the lives of his family upside down.’
As part of the suspended sentence order, the judge ordered him to attend 40 rehabilitation sessions and a programme designed to address his offending.
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