An 80-year-old former teacher has been sentenced for covertly filming up the skirt of a 15-year-old girl in a Primark store. Terrance Byford, from Watton in Norfolk, positioned his phone camera beneath the teenager's summer dress while she looked at bikinis.
Norwich Crown Court heard that Byford followed the girl's family into the shop after watching them outside. The teenager's father became suspicious when he noticed the pensioner holding his phone awkwardly, and confronted him.
Attempt to Flee
Byford tried to leave the store, but was stopped by an off-duty policewoman as he frantically attempted to delete images and video from his phone. The teenager had been in Norwich with her mother, father and sister on a planned theatre trip on June 28 last year.
Will Carter, prosecuting, said: "The father thought it was very clear and said to him 'That's my daughter'. It seemed to him he was trying to crouch with the phone on his thigh close to being under her skirt."
Evidence and Sentencing
CCTV showed Byford watching the family outside Primark before following them inside and trailing behind the girl. Videos found on his phone showed him zooming in on other girls, as well as online searches for images of young girls in mini skirts, the court heard.
Byford's defence counsel said: "He is visited by an enormous amount of shame and finds it difficult to understand why he did it."
Recorder Simon Taylor sentenced Byford to a two-year community order and placed him on the sex offender's register for five years. Mr Taylor told him: "You picked her out as a victim and took the opportunity to take intimate videos." He said it was "very concerning" that the man had been unable to explain his offending after "many years in a useful career in teaching".
Background of Offence
The Recorder added that Byford had also made comments to police that it was not the first time he had upskirted young girls. "Upskirting" – taking pictures or videos under a person's clothing without consent to see their genitals or underwear – was made a criminal offence in 2019, with offenders facing up to two years in prison.
