A JUDGE yesterday praised a member of the public who reported a man trying to record a young child getting changed at a Portstewart beach using a pair of "surreptitious" video sunglasses.
Christopher Hodgen (65), of Salisbury Court in Belfast, was detected in The Crescent area of the Co Derry seaside town where the child was with his mother in July this year.
Hodgen had denied the two charges he faced but was convicted yesterday at Coleraine Magistrates Court of attempted voyeurism and the attempted making of an indecent photograph.
District Judge Peter King said Hodgen had decided to travel to Portstewart having "armed yourself with a recording device".
The judge added that the design of the glasses and the way in which they were used by Hodgen were "fairly surreptitious".
Hodgen contested the charges against him, but instructed his legal counsel not to dispute the evidence.
He declined to give evidence.
A prosecutor said a witness saw a man - Hodgen - in Portstewart and he was holding the glasses by the stem and pushing buttons with a "red light" activated whilst a three-year-old boy who was "naked from the waist down" was nearby getting changed.
The court heard the glasses had audio and video capability and had been bought on July 26.
The prosecutor said that during a police interview the defendant said he travelled to the area to watch a Hugo Duncan show.
He made no comment to questions by police about the glasses or his actions near a play area.
The prosecution lawyer said the defendant "couldn't have been given more opportunities to give an innocent explanation. He took the decision not to do that".
A defence barrister told the court: "In effect, he has instructed me that he maintains his innocence but does not wish to give evidence to the court."
Judge King said inferences could be drawn from Hodgen's silences when given the opportunity to offer an explanation.
He added: "This is not a weak prosecution case".
Judge King said the outline of the facts in the statements were "compelling".
He also said he wished to commend a witness's "public spirit" in alerting police.
Sentencing has been adjourned until December for a pre-sentence report.