Yahoo Finance Upskirting student, 20, secretly filmed women more than 20 times
A student who placed his smartphone to secretly film up women's skirts for sexual gratification has been spared jail.
Doyun Kim would position his iPhone in university buildings, shops and on a bus but was caught when it was spotted recording in a bathroom.
Police were called and found a number of videos on the University of Manchester student's device that had been taken under the skirts of the women.
Not all of the London-raised South Korean's victims have been traced, but one said she was "really shocked" and now checks for hidden cameras when she goes out, while another described being left "angry and upset" and receiving counselling.
The defendant, of New Malden, Kingston-upon-Thames, had pleaded guilty to 22 counts of voyeurism and four counts of attempted voyeurism.
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Manchester Crown Court heard the iPhone X was spotted in November 2019, its camera facing up at a sink in a bathroom and the device covered with two small bin bags and toilet roll.
The student stopped the recording and played it back to find 20-year-old Kim's face appear in the footage as he positioned it in the bathroom.
She deleted the footage and called police, who searched Kim's student home and seized the phone.
Footage – the earliest was taken in September 2019 – showed he had filmed up women's skirts at a university welcome fair.
Officers also found a recording from women walking up and down stairs and a video of a woman as she bent over to pick up pizza.
Among numerous clips was footage from a stationery shop, a student party and a Chinese supermarket.
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Kim, who was known to friends as Eric, refused to answer questions after being arrested in January 2020.
The court heard how two other women Kim recorded felt "violated".
The Probation Service warned he had a "high risk" of committing similar crimes in the future and a "medium risk" of causing harm.
His lawyer Kate Blackwell said Kim had completed a programme to address his behaviour and the court was told he had no previous convictions and had sought expert help.
The judge, Recorder O'Donohoe, said he was "impressed" with a letter he received from the defendant because it was "not self-pitying".
"It seems that for a very large part of your life you were an isolated individual," he told Kim..
"There's a mistaken belief this can be a victimless crime. It's not. The victim impact statements in this case speak of the hurt, anger and distress that have arisen because of your behaviour."
He said Kim could be "managed in the community" and gave him a three-year community order and told him to complete 220 hours of unpaid work on Friday.
Kim was also made the subject of a five-year sexual harm prevention order.
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