Voyeur: Former Christian street pastor jailed for secretly filming naked woman

A former Christian street pastor who used a hidden camera to record a young woman naked on at least 10 separate occasions has been jailed for nine months.

Paul Jacobs, 56, of Grand Avenue, Berrylands, appeared at Kingston Crown Court yesterday for his sentencing after pleading guilty to voyeurism at a previous hearing. The chef, who quit the voluntary organisation which regularly assists late-night revellers in town centres earlier this year after his arrest, had many friends and supporters in court who reacted with shock as he was imprisoned.

The Comet is unable to publish details of the case due to legal restrictions, however the offences date back to September last year and only came to light when the victim discovered a hidden camera. Jacobs admitted his guilt during police interviews. He also admitted viewing the footage which ranged from 20 seconds to two minutes, before deleting it. He did not upload the footage to the internet, the court heard. Prosecutor Thom [filtered word] said: “During his interviews Mr Jacobs said he had prayed a lot and that God told him to admit what he had done and take responsibility for his actions.”

He read out a letter from a pastor at Hampton Wick Baptist Church, where Jacobs worships, in which she insisted the church was now fully aware of what he had done, but had forgiven him. The letter also urged the judge to be lenient.

He said Jacobs was likely to serve only half this sentence but must remain on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years.

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