Former Gloucester councillor sentenced for upskirting two women
A former Gloucester councillor has been sentenced after two separate incidents of recording up a woman’s skirt.
Lee Hawthorne was sentenced to nine months in prison, suspended for two years for the offences. He was also ordered to do 300 hours of unpaid community work and placed on the sex offenders register.
In one instance, he crouched down in an aisle of a TK Max in Gloucester and made repeated attempts to position his phone underneath the dress of a woman who was browsing clothing.
When he was later arrested for the incident, police found footage of another woman Hawthorne had secretly recorded.
Both victims said the incidents had affected their mental health, particularly because Hawthorne initially denied the crimes.
He later changed his plea, admitting one charge of voyeurism and another of attempted voyeurism at Bristol Crown Court on March 1.
"The incident has affected my trust in others," said one of the women as she made a statement at Bristol Crown Court.
"I've become jumpy when I am around unknown males. I avoid situations that make me feel vulnerable."
Hawthorne was elected as a Conservative councillor in 2016 but was suspended when he was arrested in July 2019. He continued to sit as an independent, before resigning in April 2020.
Sentencing him on Monday 29 March, Judge Martin Picton said the only reason Hawthorne was avoiding jail was because of his family's reliance on him but described the crime as a "selfish and deeply strange activity".
"The harm you did to your victims is obvious and should cause you deep shame." he said, adding the impact of the offences were made worse by his denial.
Read more: