Enniskillen Court House, RMGFH04
A TEENAGER is to contest charges in respect of alleged covert ‘upskirt’ recordings of two teachers at his County Fermanagh school.
The accused, who cannot be identified, faces five charges involving two female alleged injured parties.
He is accused of committing acts of a lewd, obscene and disgusting nature, outraging public decency by making covert video-recordings underneath the skirts of the women.
The offences were allegedly committed on various dates between February 2015 and September 2016.
Three of the allegations relate to one woman, and the remainder to the second.
A prosecuting lawyer told a review hearing at Enniskillen Youth Court an evidential report sought on the USB stick on which the images were found is still awaited.
However it was not thought this would interfere with a scheduled contest
Noting some of the charges date from 2015, District Judge Michael Ranahan expressed some concern and ordered the report to be expeditated, in order to ensure any issues within it could be flagged up in advance of the case being heard.
The prosecution advised a barrister has been instructed to run the case on their behalf, whilst the defence advised they have senior counsel on board.
Judge Ranahan listed a further review for early October.
The accused was not present in court for the hearing.
When concerns were first raised, PSNI investigated and sent a file to the Public Prosecution Service (PPS), but a decision was issued not to prosecute.
The PPS said the activities reported to them did not constitute an offence in criminal law, and that the women teachers involved “were not observed doing a private act and therefore the evidential test in respect of the offence of voyeurism” was not met.
However it later emerged that the teen was being prosecuted for the alternative charges of outraging public decency, all of which are denied.
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