BELFAST MAN PATRICE RENAULT SENTENCED AFTER HIDDEN CAMERA FILMING CHILDREN IN BATHROOM
In September 2017, Belfast man Patrice Renault was sentenced to prison following an incident where he filmed children using a concealed camera in his bathroom.Renault, 43, from Lisburn Road in South Belfast, was also found to have downloaded hundreds of videos depicting child abuse, along with extreme pornography and voyeuristic images and videos.
At the time, Renault was serving as the manager of a hotel on Dublin Road, Belfast.
He received a prison sentence of 16 months for creating indecent images of children and possessing extreme pornography, complemented by an additional eight months for voyeurism, to be served consecutively at Belfast Crown Court.
The judge ordered that Renault serve six months in custody, with a further 18-month suspended sentence.
Officers from the National Crime Agency (NCA) and Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) arrested Renault at his home after establishing a link to internet activity involving indecent images of children.
During questioning, he quickly admitted to searching for and downloading images of "young boys in love," directing investigators to his relevant computers and providing his passwords.
However, Renault did not disclose that he had hidden a camera in his bathroom clock, which he used to record guests without their knowledge.
Among those filmed were three children.
A computer search uncovered nearly 1,000 indecent images and extreme pornographic videos.
Most depicted boys aged between 12 and 15, but there was also footage of a five-year-old being abused.
Additionally, officers found 1,135 voyeurism videos recorded by Renault himself.
He admitted that the fifteen people he secretly recorded were mostly friends, many of whom had traveled from France.
One recording showed a five-year-old being showered by his father in Renault’s bathroom.
Renault was charged with and convicted of making and possessing over 900 indecent images of children, possessing extreme pornography, and voyeurism.
