March 2003 Man filmed his own sex assaults A 27-year-old man who filmed himself indecently assaulting women as they slept has been jailed for six years. Leon Rushton, of Salford, Greater Manchester, had also set up a hidden camera in his bathroom to film women as they went to the toilet. He was caught after one girlfriend woke to find him assaulting her, Manchester’s Minshull Street Crown Court was told. The next day, Emily Harvey, 23, found a video tape of Rushton carrying out the assault. Miss Harvey, who has waived her right to anonymity, contacted police. ‘Appalling offences’ They recovered 300 videos with up to 3,000 hours of film showing Rushton carrying out similar acts on other women at his flat in Manchester Road West, Little Hulton. Miss Harvey went out with Rushton for six months in 2000. She said he was not her usual type, describing him as a “pretty boy” with an unhealthy obsession with Manchester United footballer David Beckham. She said: “I confronted him and he accused me of lying,” adding that he promised to destroy the video recording after she found it. “I did not trust him and when he went out I had a look around and found other stuff.” The “other stuff” was Rushton’s sick collection of videos and photographs. ‘Pure disgust Miss Harvey said: “I feel more for other people because, fortunately, my daughter was not involved. It breaks my heart that he has done things to young children.” She added that seeing the “cocky” Rushton in the dock has made her feel “pure disgust”. “I want him to suffer and this to happen to no one else ever again,” she added. Another of Rushton’s victims, who cannot be named for legal reasons, refused to believe the bizarre allegations until detectives showed her the videos. One of Miss A’s two young children was one of Rushton’s victims. The 27-year-old single mother’s said Rushton’s obsession with Beckham was the only thing out of the ordinary. ‘Wore sarong’ “He thought he was David Beckham. He used to copy Beckham’s hair and how he dressed. He even went out one night in a sarong.” Rushton admitted six charges of indecent assault, eleven counts of taking photographs of children and one of showing an indecent photograph of a child. Passing sentence, Judge Stuart Fish said the offences were “appalling”. He also placed Rushton on the Sex Offenders’ Register for life.