Northern Ireland

Man (25) who tricked woman into undressing with fake modelling agency claim is jailed

Ryan Eastwood arriving at Limavady Magistrates Court in 2017. Picture by Brian Lawless
Ryan Eastwood arriving at Limavady Magistrates Court in 2017. Picture by Brian Lawless Ryan Eastwood arriving at Limavady Magistrates Court in 2017. Picture by Brian Lawless

A Co Tyrone man who tricked a woman into undressing in an online video chat by claiming to run a modelling agency has been jailed for six months.

Ryan Eastwood, of Coolnagard View in Omagh, pleaded guilty to one count of voyeurism and was sentenced yesterday at Antrim Crown Court.

The 25-year-old contacted his victim by email in March 2017 and using the name Ryan Edwards, told her he wanted to conduct an interview via Skype in which he would assess her suitability for a lingerie modelling contract.

The court was told that Eastwood used an email address similar to that of a legitimate agency but the victim became suspicious after the video call.

A prosecutor said he initially denied duping the woman and claimed someone else had used his computer.

He was due to face trial in December on 23 charges including five counts of voyeurism, nine counts of harassment, and five of causing a person to engage in a sexual act.

All counts were left on the books apart from the single voyeurism charge for which Eastwood pleaded guilty.

The court heard Eastwood had a previous conviction for an "identical" offence and had "looked for satisfaction in causing stress and humiliation" to his victim.

The woman has "experienced thoughts of self-harm" since falling prey to the deception.

Following his release, Eastwood will spend six months on licence and must reside at an approved address while refraining from accessing a device, computer or camera.

He was also ordered not to develop online relationships with women and to remain on the sex offenders register for 10 years.