Underwear fetishist Steven Atkinson sentenced for disturbing behaviour
A workman who rifled through his female customers' drawers and stole their underwear was given a suspended jail sentence today.
Underwear fetishist Steven Atkinson, 45, entered the women's homes as a bona fide aerial fitter.
He took secret pictures of the women on his mobile phone before covertly going through their underwear drawers and stealing their knickers or bras.
He would sometimes take photos of their underwear, or photograph his penis inside the underwear drawer.
Atkinson, of Boxhill Drive, Northern Moor, Manchester, also made obscene phone calls to women.
His offending came to light when a computer memory stick was handed in to police by a member of the public.
It contained hundreds of images of women, voice recordings and indecent images of children. There were also pictures of his company vans and of Atkinson himself.
Some of the photographs had been doctored by Atkinson to include abusive and indecent text, together with details of the subject.
There were also numerous pictures of women's underwear.
Police found a list of telephone numbers and names, with sexually derogatory remarks alongside each, when they searched Atkinson's house.
A number of audio recordings were found of him making sexually offensive remarks to women, often receptionists or customers.
Atkinson pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing to three offences of burglary, 13 charges of possessing indecent images, and making an obscene phone call.
He also asked for another four burglaries and 38 counts of possessing indecent images to be taken into consideration.
Atkinson was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years, given an indefinite Sex Offenders Prevention Order and instructed to sign the sex offenders register for 10 years at Manchester Crown Court today.
Detective Constable Pete Rickards of the Sexual Crime Unit at Greater Manchester Police said: "This was a serious breach of trust.
"Atkinson was invited into houses as a bona fide workman, often on personal recommendation, and abused his privilege by taking unsolicited photographs of women using his mobile phone and sometimes stealing items of underwear.
"Each of the complainants has felt completely violated by his intrusion into their private lives.
"Coupled with his interest in child abuse images, his bizarre sexual behaviour is disturbing and he will be subject to very close and stringent scrutiny in the future."
Officers are now appealing for anyone who thinks they may have been a victim of Atkinson to contact Greater Manchester Police's Sexual Crime Unit on or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
The Independent