Man spied on teenage girls

3:21pm Friday 16th May 2008

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A PREDATORY paedophile, who was jailed after recording pupils at St Albans Girls' school has been put back behind bars indefinitely for a similar crime.

Perverted Terrence Pittman, 44, captured girls on carefully hidden cameras at schools across the county between 1993 and 1997.

Recording equipment was also discovered at the school in Sandridgebury Lane, St Albans.

He was jailed for ten years in 1997 for arson after he set fire to two of the schools he targeted to cover his tracks.

But it emerged the serial pervert was up to his old tricks again when he was caught secretly filming two teenage girls in their bedroom.

Pittman of Leggatts Way, Watford, installed tiny cameras in the ceiling of the girls' bedroom and ran wires up to four video recorders in the loft, St Albans Crown Court heard.

He was caught after one of the girls, aged 13, found the camera.

Prosceutor Mr Field told the court a DVD containing four hours of edited footage was uncovered when police searched the home Pittman shared with his mother after his arrest in November 2006.

The footage featured images of a 13-year-old girl, a 14-year-old friend, and a 17-year-old girl.

Pittman, who was on licence having been released after serving two-thirds of his sentence, returned to prison after pleading guilty to voyeurism and three charges of making indecent images of children on Thursday.

Passing sentencing, Judge John Plumstead told him: "You spied on these girls to gain sexual gratification. They were entitled to have absolute privacy."

Judge Plumstead felt there was a very high risk of further offending and regarded Pittman as a danger to the public.

He passed an indeterminate sentence for public protection, which means he will not be released from jail until the parole board think it is safe to do so.

Once he is freed Pittman will be on licence so that he is monitored by probation officers for 10 years.