A pervert who filmed a couple having sex through their window was found to have waged a four-year voyeuristic campaign involving up to 90 women.
Jake Austin was caught when a shocked woman was ‘intimate in the bedroom’ and saw a face looking through the ground floor window, which had the curtain partially drawn.
Police were called and seized his phone after finding it near the Norwich estate. They also raided his home to look at his hard drive and desktop computer.
Checks showed that the 31-year-old had been spying on the woman for four months, but also that he had violated the privacy of dozens of others.
This included filming them through windows or holes in the blinds in various states of undress and ‘upskirting’ victims in supermarkets, pubs and on the street.
Most have never been identified by police and remain unaware that their privacy has been invaded.
Austin has now appeared in court in Norwich for sentencing, having previously admitted five charges of voyeurism and three counts of recording an image under clothing without consent.
The tearful defendant also pleaded guilty to three offenses of making indecent images of children – including eight photographs and 13 videos classified as the most serious form, Category A.
Jake Austin, 31, was caught when shocked woman was ‘intimate in the bedroom’ and saw a face looking through the ground floor window
Sentencing him to 31 months in prison, Judge Andrew Shaw condemned the ‘campaign of voyeurism and upskirting’ involving ‘multiple’ victims for the purpose of sexual gratification.
Women were forced to endure the ‘humiliation’ of identifying themselves in evidence discovered by police.
Judge Shaw also said Austin’s actions caused the ‘greatest concern’ and he believed he posed a high risk of serious harm to the public.
In victim impact statements read out in court, some of the women Austin spied on described the effect his offending had had on them.
One said: ‘This was a significant violation of my privacy and the comfort I should feel in my own home. This experience has made me much more wary of strangers.’
Another revealed: ‘It’s a very strange feeling knowing someone is watching you without you knowing.
‘The fact that he decided to film me made me feel even more disturbed.’
A third described feeling ‘vulnerable’ when she learned she had been secretly filmed.
Judge Andrew Shaw condemned the ‘campaign of voyeurism and upskirting’ involving ‘multiple’ victims for the purpose of sexual gratification
‘When the officer told me I was still breastfeeding my young daughter, I was concerned about what was a completely normal act and whether strangers could use it to take photos for their own personal gain. It gave me a lot of anxiety,” she said.
The court heard he was arrested in March 2024 when the woman was having sex with her partner and ‘saw a man with his face pressed against the glass’.
Images found on Austin’s devices show one of her “sitting naked on her bed with a towel on her head.”
The voyeurism took place from June 2020 until his arrest, but only six victims had been identified and contacted by Norfolk Police.
Andrew Oliver, defending, told the court last month that his client developed the “unhealthy” obsession after becoming involved in a “toxic” relationship with an alcoholic, which left him suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
But Austin, who had no previous convictions, accepted his actions were deliberate and was ‘deeply remorseful’ for what he had done.
Outside court, investigating officer Detective Constable Matthew Hubbard said: ‘Austin’s offending represented a serious and ongoing pattern of predatory behaviour.
‘He deliberately targeted women who were completely unaware that they were being filmed, and did so both in public and in the privacy of their own homes, without their knowledge or consent.
The hearing at Norwich Crown Court was told that most of the women Austin targeted had never been identified
“He violated their privacy and I know these crimes have had a profound impact on them.”
He added: ‘We would always encourage anyone who witnesses or experiences this type of behavior to report it to police.
‘Voyeurism and upskirting can sometimes indicate escalating behaviour, so reporting this allows us to build intelligence and intervene to prevent further harm.’
Austin, who lives in Norwich, was also placed on the sex offenders register indefinitely and made the subject of a ten-year sexual harm prevention order.
