Webcam victim reveals horror at being spied on by voyeur Andrew Meldrum
A woman who was spied on in her bedroom by a man who bugged her webcam has told ITV News of her horror at how easy it was to do, but said she supports a decision not to send the voyeur straight to jail.
Andrew Meldrum was given a 12-month suspended sentence and a fine after spying on three women for more than a year.
He compiled thousands of covertly taken private images, including naked shots and one victim on the toilet, after secretly installing simple spying software on their computers.
ITV News Correspondent Juliet Bremner reports:
Meldrum was described as a "jealous and controlling" man who ran the plot for his "own sexual gratification".
The 30-year-old admitted three counts of unauthorised access to computer material and was found guilty of two counts of voyeurism after a trial at Woolwich Crown Court.
The verdict and sentencing were the first for a cyberstalking case in the UK.
Meldrum, a former Goldsmiths University student, remained undetected for 15 months until the women - who cannot be named for legal reasons - discovered the programme had been installed on their computers.
"Even when I found out about it I couldn't believe that it had actually happened," said the woman who gave her reaction to ITV News but cannot be identified for legal reasons. She added:
Despite the intrusion, she was satisfied justice had been done, saying:
Sentencing, Recorder Mark Heywood QC said: "It's clear from the evidence that many, many, many recordings were made by the computers of the three young women... concerning the most private acts in their own homes."
He ordered Meldrum to forfeit his computer and pay a contribution to prosecution costs of £2,100 plus a £100 victim surcharge.
Responding to the sentence, a Met Police spokesman said: