Office worker says he spied on colleagues in the toilet because they bullied him

An employee caught recording colleagues on the loo has been spared jail time by blaming his lurid behavior on workplace ‘bullying’.

Andrew Cox, 38, rigged a mobile phone in a cubicle so he could record fellow workers taking toilet breaks.

The man from Wrexham, North Wales, was rumbled in March 2024 after a staff member spotted the secret camera.

Cox was revealed as the perpetrator as the footage also included him setting the video up and hiding his phone beneath a rag.

Police seized his electronic devices and found a ‘substantial’ amount of video relating to the recordings.

They also uncovered five images of extreme pornography involving men and women having sex with animals.

At Chester Magistrates’ Court, Cox faced up to eighteen months in custody after pleading guilty to two charges of voyeurism and one charge of possession of extreme pornography.

But he was instead handed fifteen weeks’ imprisonment suspended for eighteen months after claiming he had become ‘introverted’ due to bullying at work and school.

Cox also claimed the bestiality images had been shared by his manager and on a workplace WhatsApp group.

He arrived at court with his mother who watched proceedings from the public gallery.

Joanne Black, Cox’s defense solicitor, said he was ‘mortified’ by his actions and ‘terrified’ of going into custody.

Black told the court things had gone well when he’d first joined the firm in 2013 but mean workplace culture saw him enter a spiral of introversion and viewing online content.

She said: ‘That developed to the situation and the problem with voyeurism. He said it was a relief when he was arrested.

‘He was not brought up to condone that sort of behavior and his mum is with him today.’

Black also said the extreme pornographic content had been sent to him by a manager on WhatsApp.

She continued: ‘He is someone terrified of going to custody. He is likely to be on a wing mixing with people who are probably going to have a worse condition, that may make this gentleman come out in a worse place.

‘Yes, it would punish him but it would not get to the root of the problem. He wants to move forward. He seems to recognize the inappropriateness and the impact of what he has done.’

Heather Bell, prosecuting, described the moment Cox was caught, saying: ‘[A colleague] found the phone recording… A colleague’s played back the recording and found Andrew Cox placing the phone in situ.

‘One man was recorded undoing his trousers revealing his genitals before using the toilet. He was recorded using the toilet twice over a nearly two hours of recording.’

‘The defendant was arrested on the next occasion he returned to the workplace and two mobile phones and a laptop were seized.

‘Whilst in custody the defendant made a full confession saying: ‘It was me’.. He was also found in possession of five extreme pornographic videos, males and females engaging in sexual activity with animals.

‘In addition, there was a substantial amount of evidence in messages and videos in relation to the offense of voyeurism. This was not an isolated incident. It happened on multiple occasions.’

In mitigation for Cox defense solicitor Joanne Black said: ‘He is highly mortified and ashamed.’

She added: ‘Three of extreme pornography videos were sent to him by his manager, one was sent on a group chat and the other by a friend. He said: ‘I was not interested.’ but it puts you in a very awkward position when the manager sends you something of that nature.’

Cox who lives in the village of Acrefair, was also ordered to complete 120 hours of unpaid work, 20 days of rehabilitation activity and pay £454 in costs and a surcharge.

He must sign on the Sex Offenders Register for seven years.

District Judge Ian Barnes told him: ‘You clearly have a niche sexual interest regarding videoing people involved in a private act. You were not satisfied to limit your access to material on the internet but sought to create your own content.

‘You betrayed the trust of colleagues. I am sure they felt sick and violated that they were being filmed whilst using the toilet. Whilst the public would expect an immediate custodial sentence you would not have the targeted intervention you quite clearly need to challenge your thinking and behavior in the hope of preventing this type of offending occurring again.

‘It seems to me the general public would be better served with your penalty in the community.’

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