A pervert who secretly filmed a colleague undressing on a North Sea rig has been caught being a peeping tom again 10 years later.
Andrew Thomas appeared in court this week and admitted concealing a phone camera inside a vase of flowers to spy on a 65-year-old woman in her bedroom.
It was found to hold more than 40 hours of intimate recordings of the woman in varying states of undress.
In 2013, Thomas appeared in court after he was caught secretly filming a female colleague while she showered in her cabin on the rig.
Thomas, 49, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court this week and admitted covertly recording his victim at her home in Perthshire over a six-month period between January 29 and July 29 2023.
Victim spots hidden camera
Fiscal depute Rachel Hill, prosecuting, said the woman lived alone in a small village outside Thomas’ home town of Pitlochry.
“This is a small rural and close-knit community where most locals know one another,” she said.
“Many residents often leave their homes insecure.”
Ms Hill said the woman knew Thomas and his elderly parents.
“She considered the accused to be a friend and they regularly socialised together with shared coffees, alcoholic drinks and dog walks.”
The court heard that in December 2022, Thomas told the woman he had “deeper romantic feelings towards her”.
She told him she did not share those feelings and the matter was not spoken about again.
Ms Hill said: “On July 29 2023, the complainer was in the process of rearranging artificial flowers in a vase at the foot of her bed.
“She became aware of an object within the vase which had a camera lens pointing in the general direction of her bed.
“Upon further investigation, this was found to be a mobile phone attached to the inside of the vase, connected to a power bank also inside the vase.”
40 hours of footage
The woman immediately called her daughter, who is a police officer.
When she attended with her partner, they examined the device.
It was described as a white iPhone, stuck on using Velcro, protruding from the vase by about an inch.
The fiscal depute said: “It could be seen from the screen that a video recording was taking place.
“It appeared to have been running for a period of 40 hours and 45 minutes.”
When the daughter looked at the photo gallery, she found 34 files.
“She could see from the thumbnails that there were intimate images of her mother in various stages of undress, and also while naked,” Ms Hill said.
Police arrived later that day, but the woman was “too shaken and upset” to provide a statement.
However, she remembered receiving a Christmas present from Thomas which she had stored away, unopened.
Her daughter retrieved it from a cupboard and unwrapped it in front of officers.
It was a power bank, identical to the one found inside the bedroom vase.
Pervert confronted as he sneaked into property
The following day, Thomas crept into the woman’s home shortly after she left for church.
Her daughter and her partner, who is also a police officer, saw him at the property.
They found the back door unlocked and open.
Ms Hill said that a key, stored in the porch, had been used to get inside.
As they went in, Thomas appeared from a hallway door.
Asked what he was doing, he paused for some time then eventually said he was there for a hedge trimmer battery.
He argued that the woman sometimes kept it indoors instead of its usual spot in the garage.
Thomas was told he had no business being in the house and he agreed to leave.
Police traced Thomas at home later that day.
Ms Hill said: “When interviewed, he openly admitted the offence, stating he had entered the property whilst it was unlocked and placed the camera phone inside the vase.
“He said he had returned on numerous occasions to replace the battery, but couldn’t say how many times.”
She added: “He confirmed that he had romantic feelings towards the complainer and said the recordings were captured for a sexual purpose.
“He admitted he had gone to the house that day to check the phone, but had been interrupted.”
When cautioned and charged, he replied: “Guilty”.
Sheriff Alison McKay placed Thomas on the sex offenders register and deferred sentence for background reports.
“You will appreciate that this offence is a concerning one, not least because you have a previous conviction that appears to be analogous.
“In the circumstances, I am not prepared to deal with this today.”
Peeping tom’s previous conviction
A decade ago, Thomas, of Perth Road, Pitlochry, was placed on supervision and ordered to carry out 100 hours unpaid work after he admitted secretly recording a female colleague on a North Sea platform.
Aberdeen Sheriff Court heard how he sneaked into his victim’s cabin and hid his mobile in her bathroom.
It was concealed behind a white sheet of paper and set to record footage of her as she washed.
Thomas crept into his victim’s cabin on a North Sea oil rig between September and October 2013.
The woman discovered she was being filmed when she spotted the hidden device.
Speaking after sentencing, she told the Press and Journal: “After what he put me through, I feel that all he’s got is a slap on the wrist.”
She added: “He was a really close friend – my best friend on the rigs.
“We’d worked together as stewards for six years. Watching me while I’m in the shower? How could he do that to me? It makes my flesh creep to think what he might have done with the videos.”