CHELMSFORD MAN CARL EDIKER SENTENCED FOR VOYEURISM AND CHILD INDECENCY OFFENSES
In November 2017, Carl Ediker, a 42-year-old from Chelmsford, received a sentence for spying on a 13-year-old girl and recording her undressing using a hidden camera.Although he was found guilty, he did not receive a prison term but was given a six-month suspended sentence.
The court heard that Ediker had operated a camera in the girl’s bedroom between June and December 2016, capturing five recordings.
Additionally, he was convicted of possessing indecent images of children as young as two years old on his computer.
Police arrested Ediker on December 10, 2016, during a raid at his home, where they confiscated devices that contained eight different videos and images depicting child sexual abuse.
He had also saved some of the footage he recorded of the girl he spied on, but this material has been ordered for destruction.
Judge David Turner, delivering the sentence at Chelmsford Crown Court on November 3, stated, “I sentence you to two months in prison for possessing indecent images, suspended for two years, and six months for voyeurism, also suspended for two years.
These sentences will run concurrently.” Furthermore, Ediker was ordered to participate in a sex offender rehabilitation program, complete 40 days of alcohol treatment, and adhere to a sexual harm prevention order that will stay in effect for five years.
He is also required to undertake 120 hours of unpaid work within the next year.
Earlier, in September 2017, Ediker had admitted to watching a mother and her 14-year-old daughter undress through a hidden camera and possessing numerous indecent images of children.
The court learned that he used a covert camera to record the mother and daughter in their bedrooms for his own sexual gratification, saving these recordings on his computer.
His criminal actions came to light after police received intelligence indicating he had been viewing indecent images online.
On December 16, 2016, law enforcement executed a warrant at his residence, which was his only occupied address.
During the search, officers discovered multiple devices containing indecent images.
Investigations revealed that between April 2014 and November 2016, Ediker had downloaded a significant number of still and moving images of children, including two classified as the most severe category of indecency.
The evidence also showed that Ediker had used covert cameras at a flat in Chelmsford to film children, in addition to viewing a wide range of abusive material.
He pleaded guilty to four counts—three of making indecent photographs of children and one of voyeurism.
Represented by lawyer Robert Perkins, Ediker acknowledged that he was aware he could face jail time but noted he had no previous convictions.
The chairman of the bench, Mr.
Clubb, ordered that Ediker’s case should be transferred to Chelmsford Crown Court, as magistrates lacked the authority for sentencing in such severe cases.
Ediker, of Harewood Road, was released on bail under the condition that he have no unsupervised contact with anyone under 18.
His next court appearance is scheduled for October 11.
