An electrician in Scotland was arrested after being caught secretly installing surveillance equipment in customers’ homes and filming their private activities.
Thirty-four-year-old James Denholm was arrested for voyeurism after an extensive investigation by Police Scotland. On Monday, July 22, he pled guilty to 16 charges related to stalking and voyeurism. The electrician was jailed at Aberdeen Sheriff Court on Monday, Sept. 2, for two years and eight months and also indefinitely added to the list of sexual offenders.
The criminal activity went on for 15 years before Denholm was finally discovered, and he was actively watching people between 2008 and 2023. According to Detective Inspector Mark Lambley, he will now face “the consequences of his despicable and distressing actions.” Lambley said Police Scotland hopes the sentencing will bring “some comfort” to the victims whose privacy Denholm violated. The detective added that no sexual crimes would be tolerated in Scotland and that such crimes would be thoroughly investigated when reported, “no matter how much time has passed,” and urged others “to come forward.”
Denholm secretly recorded over a dozen victims in their homes, including when they were engaged in “intimate situations.” Among his victims were also former partners, while others were his customers as an electrician. Denholm also installed cameras in public restrooms.
The former electrician’s scheme was uncovered in May 2022 when one of his victims discovered a recording device underneath her bed and contacted law enforcement. Denholm confessed to several charges involving 17 victims and also admitted to possessing inappropriate videos and images of minors from 2007 to 2012. Evidence dating from 2013 to 2023 was discovered on storage devices recovered in a subsequent raid on his home in Aberdeen.
Prosecutor Alison McKenzie said that Denholm “exploited a position of trust” as a contract worker in order “to gain access to” victims. She said several victims were filmed in their homes or public bathrooms, “places where they should have felt safe” and thought they had privacy. McKenzie described Denholm’s behavior as “depraved” and said it left “lasting consequences” on his victims.
Along with his sentence, Denholm was also subjected to non-harassment orders, meaning he is forbidden from trying to contact or contacting four of the victims in the case.
