Man who spied on people as they undressed at holiday resort is jailed

A man who spied on people as they undressed at a Lincolnshire holiday resort and stockpiled indecent images of children has been jailed for more than three years.

Mark Simpson, formerly of Bellshill Close, Hadrian Park in Wallsend, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court for sentencing today, Monday, 20 October.

The 51-year-old had already pleaded guilty to 15 charges, covering dozens of incidents from 2017 through to 2023.

Two of those charges relate to voyeurism – 34 individual incidents in total.

Thirty took place within the changing rooms at Butlins Skegness, as well as four incidents at a separate location.

Simpson recorded footage and took photos of his victims as they got changed – but came unstuck on 15 April 2023 after a man reported his wife had been spied on by him.

Officers tracked down Simpson and his phone was seized and handed over to the digital forensic unit for download.

The device was assessed by a member of the Paedophile Online Investigation Team who confirmed it contained multiple videos of voyeurism.

They also found videos containing indecent images of children.

A hidden folder was also discovered, which housed an app showing chat logs where he had exchanged indecent and prohibited images of children.

In addition to the two charges of voyeurism, he also pleaded guilty to:

• Two charges of distributing indecent images (multiple images and videos)
• Nine charges of making indecent images (dozens of examples per charge)
• One charge of possession of a prohibited image of a child
• One charge of taking an indecent image 

Simpson was jailed for 38 months.

Police Constable Andy Taylor, who led the case, has praised everyone involved in bringing Simpson to justice.

He said: “This case has undergone an extensive and detailed investigation, involving the examination of multiple devices and numerous hours of work.

“As a result, a comprehensive file was submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS), which led to the authorization of 15 charges relating to possession of indecent images and also voyeurism against the suspect.

“Given the strength of the evidence, the suspect has pleaded guilty to all 15 offenses.

“This sentence aims to provide justice for the victims whose privacy and personal space were violated.

“The case benefited from the support of various departments, and their collaboration was instrumental in achieving this positive outcome.

“I would like to extend my gratitude to everyone involved in this process, to reach this positive outcome today.”