Voyeur confronted by woman as he secretly filmed in toilet at Washington Service Station

A voyeur who recorded women in toilet cubicles for his own sexual gratification has been jailed.

Pawanjit Singh, also known as Robbie, snuck into female toilets and hid in cubicles before using his mobile phone to secretly record his victims as they used the toilet next to him.

He captured 26 clips and six images of numerous women in several different pubs in the North East in September 2020.

In May 2021, the 35-year-old was caught by a woman as he was in the act of recording her in the female toilets at Washington Service Station. The woman confronted him, and subsequently contacted police.

The investigation progressed when police accessed Singh’s mobile phone and, after interrogating the device, uncovered the voyeuristic content.

Singh was charged with 27 offences of voyeurism and appeared at South Tyneside Magistrates court in April where he pleaded guilty to all counts.

On Thursday 2 May, Singh, of Henry Street, Shiney Row, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court and was sentenced to one year in prison.

He will spend 10 years on the Sex Offenders’ Register, was given a Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPO) and was ordered to have his devices destroyed.

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Constable Kate Bain, of Northumbria Police, said: “We would like to thank the woman who turned out to be Singh’s last victim after she witnessed and challenged his offending – meaning the scale of his depravity was uncovered.

“Singh secretly filmed women in what should have been a totally private space, without their knowledge or consent. He showed no respect for these women whatsoever and saw them only as tools for his own sexual gratification.”

Det Con Bain said the force was committed to bringing sex offenders to justice and has appealed for victims or those with information to contact police.

She continued: “We have trained teams of officers who are experts at pursuing suspects of any form of sexual abuse and ensuring their depravity does not go unpunished.

"They’ll be there for you throughout every stage of the investigation and will offer you whatever support you need.

“We would always encourage anybody who is a victim of crime, or who has any information about this type of offending, to come forward and report it to us so we can act for you.”

Anyone who has been subjected to any form of sexual offence is encouraged to can get in touch using the ‘Report’ pages of the Northumbria Police website or call 101.

Sexual offences can also be reported through Sexual Assault Referral Centre (SARC), Rape Crisis Centres, Women’s Aid, Victim Support, The Survivors Trust and Male Survivors Partners.

Police say in an emergency, or if a crime is ongoing, to call 999 immediately.

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