A FORMER Fermanagh schoolboy convicted of outraging public decency by filming up the skirts of two teachers has apologised for his "horrible" actions.
Timothy Boomer (18), was aged 14 to 16 when he secretly made five recordings of his teachers at Portora Royal School in Enniskillen between 1 February 2015 and 13 September 2016.
He was not in Enniskillen Magistrates Court today to hear District Judge Michael Ranaghan convict him of five acts of a lewd, obscene and disgusting nature, outraging public decency, which he described as a "humiliating" experience for his victims.
The judge, reading from a summary of the court panel findings, said the acts were of a lewd and disgusting nature, that there was a reasonable expectation that others could have seen the acts taking place, and that both the teaching and student body at the school could be considered members of the public.
The recordings were found on a USB pen discovered in a classroom on November 24 2016. The then schoolboy later admitted he made them.
Mr Ranaghan said "the panel found that there was any number of potential witnesses" to the filming and that it would have been clear to anyone witnessing it, that the defendant had "positioned his hand to film up the skirt".
And that there was "no doubt that the act would have outraged any decent and mature member of the public".
At a previous hearing the defence had contended that the filming had been an act of bravado and amounted to a childish prank.
The teenager will be sentenced on March 12.
In a statement released on behalf of the now 18-year-old, he said he was "deeply sorry for the distress, worry and pain I have brought about by my actions. I want to express my regret and remorse for the hurt I have caused to my teachers".
"It was a wrong, horrible thing to do and at that age I stupidly and wrongly thought it was a daredevil prank, which I genuinely meant no harm by. I recognise how wrong I was and that my actions have had a devastating impact on my teachers and also my parents, and family.
"My regrets will be with me for the rest of my life."
The NASUWT union welcomed the verdict and called for legislation to be enacted to create an offence of upskirting in criminal law. This would bring Northern Ireland into line with legislation in England and Scotland.
"Our members have had to endure not only the violation of knowing that a pupil took intimate images of them while they were teaching, but also several years of anxious delay before this case could be brought to court. It was only due to the persistence of the NASUWT and the strength and resolve of the members that it did so at all," said general secretary Chris Keates.
Ms Keates said she hoped the verdict would provide the teachers with a sense of closure and allow them to move on.
"It also sends out a clear message to pupils that engaging in such degrading behaviour is completely unacceptable," she said.
"This case has highlighted the inadequacy of current laws around sexual harassment in Northern Ireland. Legislation has failed to keep up with the advent of mobile technology and it is clear new powers are needed to create an offence of upskirting, which would bring Northern Ireland into line with the laws in England and Scotland."
