Pervert Met Police cop, 36, spared jail after spying on woman in Primark changing room
A MET Police cop has been spared jail after spying on a woman in a Primark changing room.
Former PC Swaleh Chaudhry, 36, spied on the woman while she was changing her trousers at the store in Wandsworth, South West London, on March 30.
The woman spotted his camera in the changing room after hearing a “rustling” and saw the device pointing up at her from the cubicle next to her, a court heard.
Following Chaudhury's arrest, a raid at his home found devices with hundreds of "disgusting and extremely distressing" pornographic images and videos of children and animals.
The former cop pleaded guilty to one count of voyeurism, three counts of making indecent images of children and possession of extreme pornography involving animals.
He was handed a 10-month prison sentence at Kingston Crown Court on Friday, suspended for 18 months.
Read more UK news
Prosecutor Stephen Apted said Choudhury, who was off-duty at the time, had gone into the unisex changing rooms 15 minutes before the woman arrived.
He said: "On the 30th of March of this year, the victim, who is in her mid-twenties, was shopping in Primark at Southside Shopping Centre in Wandsworth at about 4.40pm.
"She took some trousers into the changing rooms and after changing the first pair, she heard a rustling and saw a camera underneath the gap in the adjoining changing room."
The victim yelled: "Are you recording me?"
Most read in News
Choudhury responded: "No."
The conversation was overheard by her boyfriend, who confronted the copper.
Choudhury was escorted by staff to a room in the shop while the victim called the police.
He "continued to protest his innocence" and allowed staff members to look at photos on his phone.
When cops arrived at the store, Choudhury told them he was a serving officer in the Met and found his warrant card and his phone.
A search of his home found pictures and videos involving the abuse of young children and the penetration of child victims by adults.
He pleaded guilty at his first appearance at Wimbledon Magistrate's and resigned from the Met.
An impact statement read by the prosecutor said the victim had been "constantly overwhelmed, confused and unsettled" by the incident and become "paranoid and anxious".
She said: "Since this horrific incident which took place on March 30, I am not the same person. I never would have thought I wouldn't be the woman I was before entering that changing room.
"I still to this day am struggling to come to terms with what had happened.
"Growing up, I was taught that the police were the first point of call in an emergency.
"To learn that a police officer has put me in danger, completely violating me by recording me on his mobile phone for his own sexual gratification is unfathomable.
"How do I begin to erase the trauma that his police officer has caused?"
'DISTURBING'
Handing him a suspended sentence, Judge Anne Brown said: 'We've heard the victim's statement and the very serious impact this offence has had upon her and on her life.
"It was a nasty and disturbing offence and did in my judgement show a degree of planning on your behalf, you were some 15 minutes in that changing room.
"It has clearly left the victim with a deep sense of personal violation and fear."
She added: "As a police officer at the time, the public would have rightly expected you to have a strong sense of duty, to protect the public from criminal behaviour and to be someone who sought above all to uphold the law.
"You brought shame on yourself, your family and the police service that you represented by what you did."
Commander Kyle Gordon, who leads the Met's Taskforce, branded Chaudhry's behaviour as "repugnant", the reports.
He said: "His actions go against everything we stand for.
"Holding the office of constable is a privilege and it comes with great responsibility.
"He showed himself to be totally unsuitable to hold this office and undeserving of the trust of the public, and it is right that he has resigned."
Choudhury, who has already served 16 weeks in custody, was handed at 10-month sentence, suspended for 18 months.
He must also complete a rehabilitation activity requirement for 35 days, and attend the Horizon programme for sex offenders for 27 days and complete 120 hours of unpaid work.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
Read More on The Sun
Chaudhry, of Wandsworth, has been placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years and has been the made of a subject of sexual notification requirement.
One of the conditions is he may not use unisex changing rooms for the next 10 years.