Man who planted hidden camera in toilet jailed

A man who used a hidden camera to film colleagues using a staff toilet has been jailed.

Adam Devaney, 35, of Selby, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment at York Crown Court on 26 April 2024.

In April 2021, North Yorkshire Police officers were called to a workplace in the York area, where staff had found a pen with a camera inside it in a staff toilet.

Devaney, who worked there, was arrested. The pen, as well as his phone and laptop, were forensically analysed by police.

The pen and the phone contained footage of female staff using the toilet. They also contained videos of Devaney setting up the devices in the toilet, leaving, then returning to retrieve them.

Further videos and images of a similar nature were found on his laptop.

Devaney pleaded guilty to 20 counts of voyeurism at York Crown Court on 2 January 2024.

Police identified 18 victims throughout the course of the investigation.

In victim personal statements read to the court, one woman said Devaney’s actions had left her feeling “so degraded and violated that my privacy had been invaded”. Another said: “I struggle to use work staff toilets or public toilets without being scared that a hidden device may be recording me”.

DC Jenna Hallewell, of North Yorkshire Police’s Safeguarding Investigation Team, said: “The victims in this case have shown extraordinary bravery in supporting the investigation, particularly after Devaney’s shameful crimes violated their privacy in the most horrific way.

“Sadly, the impact of what he did will stay with them forever. I hope, however, that they will take some comfort in the fact that he has been brought to justice, and must now face the consequence of his actions.”