Man cleared of trying to film female workmates on toilet due to his phobia of diarrhoea and vomit

A man who hid his phone in a toilet with the intention of filming his colleagues has been cleared of three charges of voyeurism – after magistrates accepted he has an extreme phobia of diarrhoea and vomit. A psychologist was called in to explain how Thomas Clark's actions were not as perverse as was being claimed by prosecutors. The 28-year-old, from Tilgate, West Sussex, told a court he was petrified someone using the unisex toilet at his workplace before him might have suffered a bout of diarrhoea or been sick. Between November 1, 2012, and June 5, 2013, Mr Clark's phone was found on three occasions hidden in the toilet, by women he worked with at an office in Southgate. On one occasion it was found in a bin, on another in a newspaper and on the third occasion in an Argos catalogue.

However, Mr Clark denied he was trying to film female colleagues for a sexual thrill. Horsham Magistrates' Court heard his phobia of vomit and diarrhoea was so severe that he becomes paranoid if he thinks anyone around him is ill and he could catch a bug from them. Giving evidence, Mr Clark, who previously worked in the porn industry and applied to be a male escort, said: "I try and keep the phobia to myself. It got to such a severe stage where I felt completely trapped, with panic attacks, and could only get reassurance by putting my phone in the toilet. I have to have that true confirmation of whether there is someone sick around me. It is a life or death situation for me. It causes me to listen out in case someone says they are not well, if anyone is looking discoloured or pale or saying they are not hungry."



Mr Clark added that he didn't want his colleagues to know what he was going through. He continued: "I thought it could jeopardise my job because I have lost previous jobs because of it. I have a little boy to look after. My intention was to see if anybody was having bouts of illness, vomiting or diarrhoea. It was a spur of the moment thing. I, regrettably, wasn't thinking normally and didn't think at the time it could be viewed as an invasion of privacy. I know it wasn't acceptable. I don't perceive myself as a deviant and it is upsetting." The court heard Mr Clark's phobia started at the age of eight. "I was violently sick," he said. "It was all over me. The power was gone in the house and I was left in complete darkness with vomit covering me." On each of the three occasions that Mr Clark's phone was found the women saw it before they went to the toilet.

Giving evidence, Mr Clark admitted he lied to both his manager at work and the police over the reason why his phone was hidden. He had initially claimed it was put there because he was worried his job was at risk for taking too many cigarette breaks. Mr Clark explained at the time that he wanted to see if people were talking negatively about him. Psychologist Roy Shuttleworth was called as an expert witness by the defence to explain Mr Clark's condition. Mr Shuttleworth explained that he had met Mr Clark and looked at his medical history, which showed he had sought help for the condition. He said: "It is understandable why he would not want to share his phobia with other people. It is something he has been ashamed of and doesn't want to admit it." Magistrates cleared Mr Clark, with chairman of the bench Alan Jones adding that they could not find evidence the acts were carried out for sexual gratification.