A PERVERTED hotel manager who set up a secret camera in a bedroom to watch a couple having sex was today told he faced jail.
Clarence Birkbeck, who admitted to having a “healthy fascination” with sex, placed the spy camera between two wardrobes in a bedroom in order to focus on its four-poster bed. The camera was then linked to his bedroom at the Castle Court guesthouse, in Redcar, north Yorkshire, for his enjoyment. Birkbeck, who denied a charge of voyeurism, was convicted after a trial at Langbaurgh East Magistrates’ Court in Guisborough, north Yorkshire, and warned he could be jailed.
Scene of Incident – Castle Court guesthouse
During the trial Birkbeck, 67, admitted placing the camera in one of the bedrooms but claimed it was only to see if a couple were taking drugs – not to watch them having sex. Prosecutor Anne Mitchell said Birkbeck, who runs the hotel with his long-term partner Caroline Tait, deliberately set up the camera to focus on the bed to spy on the couple’s activities. “Sexual activity took place and then the woman saw a camera in a gap near the wardrobe and the police were called and Mr Birkbeck was arrested on suspicion of voyeurism,” she told the court.
While giving evidence, the woman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, said she felt “destroyed” when she noticed the camera. The woman’s partner told the court: “There was lots of intimate activity that night. I walked past the camera several times that night naked. “We expected complete privacy. We didn’t expect anything like this.” The couple, who had stayed in the same room the previous week, rang to book a room on the morning of November 30 last year for two nights.
But, after spending one night there, the woman was horrified to discover a surveillance device screwed to the wall in the gap between two wardrobes. The police arrived that evening and were shown the camera by the couple, which was switched on and had black tape covering the LED light. After talking to Birkbeck, they were taken to his bedroom – directly below the couple – to watch the live link, which was being recorded on video. Police seized “quite an extensive collection” of pornographic DVDs and sex toys during the search of the guesthouse.
However, there was no evidence to suggest Birkbeck had recorded anything sexual between the couple. Birkbeck claimed in court that he watched only ten minutes of the live link because he believed the man and woman were smoking marijuana. “I have always had a tough stance on drugs. It has been a big problem for us over the years. We have always had a good reputation as a hotel and we try to keep it that way. “I did place a camera in the room and it was a very foolish thing to do, and I sincerely apologise to the couple.” No drugs were found in the room and the couple were not suspected of taking any illegal substances, the court was told. Adjourning for a pre-sentence report, Maureen Rider, chairman of the bench, said Birkbeck had installed the camera for his own “sexual gratification”.
She added: “We are considering a custodial sentence. We note that this was done intentionally and it caused extreme psychological harm which may have had a long term effect on the couple. “We note it was a serious breach of trust for someone running a hotel.” Sentencing was adjourned until July 3. Birkbeck, who was released on bail, would not comment as he left court.
