A convicted sex offender has been caught using a spy cam to take intimate photos.
Covertly snapped images were found by police on paedophile Brian Cocker’s mobile phone during a routine home visit.
Officers also found several child abuse images in a folder marked “Candid Teens”.
Cocker, 36, appeared at Perth Sheriff Court and admitted possession of the illicit images over an eight month period.
He further pled guilty to a charge of voyeurism.
Sheriff Jennifer Bain KC deferred sentenced for background reports.
Mobile phone folder
Cocker, of Crieff Road, Perth, was first placed on the Sex Offenders Register in 2014 for grooming a 15-year-old girl for sex.
He plied the youngster with alcohol during “frequent” sessions, despite knowing she was under-age.
He served a 10-month jail term for the offence.
Fiscal depute Elizabeth Hodgson said police called on Cocker at a property in Perth as part of multi-agency public protection arrangements (Mappa).
Cocker spoke to officers in the kitchen and freely handed over his mobile.
Investigators found a folder named ‘Candid Teens’ which contained several child abuse images.
The children depicted were as young as 14, Ms Hodgson said.
Officers then discovered what appeared to be spy cam photographs of a woman who was known to Cocker.
The images were taken using a remote device attached to the victim’s clothing, the court heard.
The device was understood to be operated by Cocker using an app on his mobile.
The images showed the woman bending over.
Cocker admitted that between April 20 and July 19 2021 at an address in Perth he operated equipment beneath the woman’s clothing with the intention of enabling himself to observe her genitals, buttocks or underwear.
He made attempts to photograph the woman’s genitals without her knowledge or consent.
Cocker will return to court for sentencing on December 6.
Groomed child
The court was previously told how Cocker groomed his 15-year-old victim after contacting her through Facebook to congratulate her on the birth of her baby.
He continued to see the vulnerable youngster, who was living in foster care at the time, despite being warned off by her mother.
Perth Sheriff Court heard it was only when the girl moved away that she felt able to report him to police.
Cocker told the court he was depressed after being dumped by his partner just weeks after the birth of their child.
He sobbed uncontrollably as he was jailed.
Sheriff Lindsay Foulis told him: “Young women require to be protected.”
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