Sheffield nurse Paul Grayson jailed for covert filming of hospital patients and staff

A nurse who "grotesquely breached" his position of trust when he covertly made indecent videos of staff and patients at a hospital in Sheffield has been jailed.

Some of Paul Grayson's victims were unconscious and recovering after surgery when he filmed up their gowns at the Royal Hallamshire Hospital.

He also installed cameras in the hospital toilets to capture videos of colleagues.

Grayson, 51, a senior nurse in pre and post-operative care, was caught after one of his victims became suspicious and found a range of memory sticks and hard drives hidden in a chair.

He admitted 23 offences including voyeurism, sexual assault, making indecent images of children, up-skirting and installing equipment to make videos for sexual gratification.

Sentencing him at Sheffield Crown Court, the Recorder of Sheffield Judge Jeremy Richardson QC told Grayson his offending had been driven by "perverted lusts" and he had a "zealous determination" to act.

He said: "Not only have you brought shame on yourself, but you have also betrayed the nursing profession, by your criminal conduct, and have brought a level of shame upon that profession too."

The court heard the offences happened between 2017 and 2020, but there was evidence the defendant had been filming women as long ago as 2012.

At least one of Grayson's victims had been left feeling suicidal after she found out what had happened.

Facing Grayson directly in court on Monday she told him his "sick and disgusting perversions" and "evil actions" over four years were crimes that "have torn me into pieces".

One of Grayson's victims has still not been identified.

The judge said the female patients who had been filmed by Grayson were "in no state to defend or protect themselves from your predations".

"Every aspect of trust... was grotesquely breached by you," he told Grayson.

Adding that there were "grave risks" of Grayson reoffending, the judge said he classed him as dangerous.

Grayson, of Woodstock Road in Sheffield, was jailed for 12 years, with an extended licence period of four years.

Speaking after the sentencing Prof Chris Morley, chief nurse at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "What Paul Grayson did was truly despicable and the fact that he deliberately abused the trust he was given as a nurse and work colleague is unforgivable.

"We have worked tirelessly with the police on the investigation and whilst today’s sentence will not make what happened any less distressing for those women he abused, I hope it goes someway to deliver justice on their behalf. 

"Whilst this was an incredibly rare occurrence, we never want it to happen to anyone else and as a result we are examining all of the information now available to determine if there are any further measures, we can take to limit the opportunity for someone to do this in the future."

Det Sgt Sarah Dolby, of South Yorkshire Police, said Grayson's victims were in "perhaps the most vulnerable position they would ever find themselves in, as they recovered in hospital from a general anaesthetic".

She added: "Grayson was in a position of trust and instead of taking care of these four women and keeping them safe, he committed these utterly horrendous acts."In interview, Grayson admitted having an insatiable addiction to voyeurism and pornography. I have no doubt that had he not been caught, his offending would have continued."