Paintball champion convicted of voyeurism

A veteran paintball champion who represented Great Britain has been found guilty of two counts of voyeurism after secretly filming two women for his own sexual gratification. Philip Southgate, nicknamed "toothless weasel", of Cholderton, Wiltshire, denied both charges but was convicted by a jury at Salisbury Crown Court. Southgate, 42, recorded the victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, using the CCTV system at his business, a car window tinting firm called TINTINIT. He took advantage of the first woman's dream of becoming a glamour model.



According to Southgate, the woman had said that she wasn't bothered about the camera, as she was "going to get her breasts out anyway". But prosecutor Colin Meeke said: "On seeing the footage of the CCTV on the screen, you switched off the monitor and reassured her that the system was in fact switched off. But this was a lie, and the camera was still functioning." Southgate messaged her on Facebook the next morning. The woman said: "He said he had horny thoughts of me. I found this really weird but I knew my intention was to get into modelling. He then told me he needed more pictures, and suggested more should be taken including some body ones.

"I then told him that was not what I was looking to get into, I just want a career in what I want to do." The second victim started an affair with Southgate in December 2014, after offering to help him with his computer. She said: "There was some flirting and I remember saying we can't do this, as we were both in relationships. There was a moment in the room between us, and then we got heated and intimate and that was the first time it was in the workshop." Southgate had assured the woman that the CCTV was switched off, which she believed. But a couple of days later he messaged her saying the camera had actually been running the whole time. He then sent her a copy of the video, the court heard, and she told him to delete it.



Southgate said he had not switched the CCTV on purposefully to record the two women, adding that it was constantly running as part of office security. Brian Adamson, who owns the premises, said he had had concerns when he first met the woman who was interested in being a glamour model. But he only realised something was wrong when he heard Southgate shouting "quick, come and have a look at this". On seeing the screen, he realised that it was footage of the woman getting dressed. He then told her about the video when she next visited at the garage, the court heard. "I didn't want that sort of thing happening in my building," he said. Mr Adamson called the police later the same night and Southgate was arrested the next day. He will be sentenced at a later date.