Married labourer, 57, hacked webcams of 772 women to watch them undress and have sex
A LABOURER who hacked into more than 700 webcams across the world to watch women undressing and having sex says he'll "kill himself" if he's extradited to the US to be punished.
Christopher Taylor, 57, spied on 772 victims from 39 different countries from his home in Wigan between August 2012 and July 2015.
Taylor tricked the unsuspecting women into downloading 'Cammy' software by packaging it as a recognisable computer program.
The software allowed him to take control of their webcams.
Cammy is listed as an 'all in one camera alarm system' on the company's LinkedIn page.
But the offences only came to light when he tricked a student at Atlanta's Georgia Institute of Technology into downloading the app onto her university laptop, Westminster Magistrates' Court heard today.
When she connected her computer to the university's network it alerted the school's security officials, who then called the FBI.
The US agency tracked the IP address to Taylor, who admitted invading the privacy of his victims during an interview with Greater Manchester Police and FBI agent Roderick Coffin.
The court heard the agencies found hundreds of images of people 'in various stages of undress and involved in sexual activity' on his laptop, all of whom were unaware of the intrusion.
The extradition hearing was told 52 of his victims – seven per cent of those hacked – are believed to live in the UK.
A Georgia grand jury indicted Taylor with charges of wire and computer fraud in January 2019.
And today, Taylor and his wife Wendy told District Judge Michael Fanning they would take their own lives if he loses the extradition battle.
Appearing on video-link from separate rooms of their home in Vicarage Road, Wigan, Christopher said his wife "just does lots of crying".
"She's terrified of me being extradited and being left alone," he said.
I'd be worried sick about what's happening to him over there because I've seen programmes on American prisons.
Sex offender Christopher Taylor's wife Wendy
"I'm just not coping at all. I'm having bad thoughts about ending my life.
"I'm so sorry for what I've done.
"I would never come back or I would come back in a coffin, I know I would.
"I know my wife wouldn't be here to stand it, I know she would end her life too. I'm so sorry.'
Wendy broke down crying when asked what she would do if her husband was extradited.
"I wouldn't want to live actually, I wouldn't want to be a burden on my children," she said.
"If they take him over there I know he wouldn't survive it anyway so I would just take my own life.
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"I would be worried sick about what's happening to him over there because I've seen programmes on American prisons."
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Taylor admits the offences, but is fighting extradition to the US in a three-day trial.
The hearing continues.