A Department for International Trade barrister has become one of the first people in the country to be sentenced for the new offence of “upskirting” after being apprehended by a police officer at a central London tube station.
Daren Timson-Hunt, aged 54, was yesterday handed a two-year community order at Westminster Magistrates Court following the incident, which took place on 1 July.
An expert in trade law, Timson-Hunt was head of DIT’s EU exit and goods legal team at until he left the post last month. He had previously worked at HM Revenue and Customs.
RELATED CONTENT
A DIT spokesperson said: “I can confirm that Daren Timson-Hunt was a government lawyer prior to resigning from the department in August 2019 to take up a post with another organisation.”
Timson-Hunt, of Stanford-le-Hope, Essex, had admitted one count of operating equipment beneath the clothing of another without consent at a hearing earlier in the month.
The Crown Prosecution Service said that he was the fourth man convicted in separate upskirting cases since the Voyeurism (Offences) Act 2019 came into effect five months ago.
Magistrates heard that Timson-Hunt’s use of a mobile phone at Embankment underground station on the morning of 1 July had attracted the attention of a police inspector based at nearby Scotland Yard.
They made Timson-Hunt’s victim aware of their suspicions and apprehended the lawyer. An inspection of Timson-Hunt’s phone revealed he had recorded two videos of the woman, who was wearing a “summery” dress.
In addition to his community sentence, Timson-Hunt was made to sign the Sex Offenders’ Register for five years and pay costs of £175.
A statement to read to the court from Timson-Hunt’s victim said she felt “incredibly violated” by his behaviour and had not worn a skirt or dress since the incident. She added that the lawyer’s acts had also made her “lose focus” for the job interview she had been travelling to that morning.