A man who filmed a girl in the showers during the British Show Pony Society winter championships has been sent to prison for 14 months.
Lee Mark Grovell pleaded guilty not only to voyeurism, but also to three counts of making indecent images of children, and possessing an extreme pornographic image.
The 46-year-old was caught filming in the Arena UK shower cubicles on Sunday, 27 March, by working hunter competitor Sophie Kelly.
“I happened to look down, and there was a phone, underneath the dividing partition, videoing me,” Sophie told H&H.
“I shouted, but the person didn’t say anything. I thought maybe it was a teenager messing around, but got worried when there was no response.”
Sophie, 24, came out of the shower and confronted Grovell.
“I realised he wasn’t a teenage boy – I hadn’t thought it would be a middle-aged man,” she said.
“I went off at him and gave him a few profanities; I called him everything under the sun.
“The worst thing was that I could cope but he didn’t know who it was in the shower, how old I was or anything, it could have been a child.”
Sophie reported Grovell to BSPS officials and he was taken to the police station.
“I had to spend the last day of the show giving statements,” Sophie said.
“It turned out he had two phones and although he was smug at first, that changed when they found the second one.
“He had indecent images of children, and a sickening video of him with a horse. But police said they couldn’t recover the video of me. He could have deleted it but there’s no knowing.”
Sophie did not have to attend a trial, as Grovell pleaded guilty, and her victim statement was read out on her behalf, at Lincoln Crown Court last Monday (14 November).
“I’m just shocked; you think you’re safe at a horse show and then to have this happen, I’m glad he’s in jail now,” she said.
A spokesman for WH Security, which was working at the show, said: “While we never wish to come across these individuals, our staff are trained to deal with these situations swiftly and discreetly and what relevant action to take.
“We are glad this person has now been removed from the show circuit. We are proud of our trained staff, that their observations and investigations have lead to a conviction.
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“We all hope these people do not enter the environments we work in but will continue to be observant and react should anything like this come to our team’s attention in the future.”
“We were very disappointed it happened at our venue and have taken steps, including changing the showers to single-sex, to ensure to the best of our ability that it never happens again,” added an Arena UK spokesman.
