Creepy peeping Tom hid spycam in bedroom vase to watch woman undress

dailyrecord.co.uk:

A sex pest crept into a woman's bedroom and set up a spycam in a vase of flowers so he could secretly record 40 hours of her undressing.Peeping Tom Andrew Thomas spent six months filming the unsuspecting pensioner after concealing his camera phone inside the vase at the foot of her bed.Thomas, who carried out a similar crime on an oil rig a decade ago, was caught when the horrified victim discovered the device while rearranging her artificial flowers.The camera phone's memory was found to hold more than 40 hours of intimate recordings of the 65-year-old woman in varying states of undress.The 49-year-old groundskeeper was later discovered sneaking around inside the property by the woman's daughter and her partner.Thomas, a convicted sex offender, confessed what he had done and admitted having romantic feelings for his victim.Thomas admitted covertly recording his victim at her home in Perthshire from 29 January to 29 July 2023.Fiscal depute Rachel Hill told Perth Sheriff Court the woman lived alone in a small village near Thomas's 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."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" but she did not share them.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