Former councillor who secretly filmed women jailed

A "depraved and selfish" former councillor who went on the run after secretly filming women in his home has been jailed for six years and two months.

Robert Holden, of Sowerby Bridge, hid cameras in his bathroom and a bedroom, recording 29 people - 27 of them women - while they showered, changed and even had sex, Bradford Crown Court heard.

He was arrested in 2022 but failed to appear in court and police found he had fled to Cape Verde, where he stayed for 17 months before returning to face court.

Holden, 51, former Conservative councillor for Ryburn on Calderdale Council, admitted 31 charges of voyeurism and seven of computer misuse over a period of 14 years, from 2006 until 2020.

Impact statements from some of his victims were read to court, with one woman saying his actions left her feeling "violated, exposed and vulnerable.”

Others spoke of how they were "overwhelmed" by their emotions, with some left feeling anxious and paranoid that they were constantly being watched.

One woman said Holden's behaviour left her feeling "stupid, empty, worthless and ashamed".

The court heard the alarm had been raised when one of the women suspected Holden had been tracking her on her mobile phone, and later found a camera hidden in the bathroom.

She contacted West Yorkshire Police and officers searched the house. Another camera was found in the bathroom and also in a bedroom - both connected to a digital recording device which was set to record 24 hours a day.

Holden, who owned a computer repair business, was also charged with computer misuse offences after downloading images from people who had trusted him with their devices.

He was arrested in November 2020 and charged in March 2022 - but failed to arrive for his hearing at Bradford Magistrates' Court a month later, having fled to Cape Verde.

Holden was at large for 17 months, until a lengthy extradition process involving the National Crime Agency led to him being brought back to the UK and appearing before the courts in September 2023, when he was remanded into custody.

Sentencing Holden on Friday, Judge Sophie McKone said: "You are depraved and selfish. You hid behind a veil of respectability, having your own business and being a local government councillor."

She added: "This was well-organised deception at its worst and you deceived people over many years.

"You breached their trust in the most gross way.

"They were entitled to think that these acts were private. You did this to get, in your own words, a cheap thrill."

Holden was ordered to sign the sex offenders register for life.

He was also handed a sexual harm prevention order for life, which includes not contacting any of the victims.

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