Peeping Tom let off with a caution after woman caught him spying on her through gym vent

A woman who was spied on by a voyeur through a changing room vent has hit out at the decision to only give him a caution.

Elsa Baudart has spoken of her anger and ‘sadness’ that police are not prosecuting the perpetrator after he confessed.

Elsa was changing clothes at Putney Leisure Centre on January 25 when she spotted a pair of glasses through the vent above her head.

The man used a chair in the neighbouring disabled changing room to peer through.

He was arrested on the day but police later informed her he had only been cautioned after showing ‘real remorse’.

Elsa, a 27-year-old solicitor told Metro: ‘I felt that the perpetrator of sexual assault is actually being prioritised over me.

‘Of course he would be sorry. He doesn’t want to be known as a sexual offender in a leisure centre. 

‘I never thought I’d be that bothered about it, but I felt so scared. I was crying and that is not like me.’

Elsa felt like she was being watched while changing at around 8.30am.She looked up and saw a pair of glasses staring at her.

‘He didn’t move when he saw me. That was the most upsetting thing,’ she said.

‘He carried on watching me because he thought I couldn’t see him.’

Elsa screamed at the man and he dropped down from his viewing spot.

As she left the changing rooms, she spotted the him pushing a wheelchair out of the disabled room next door. 

Two weeks after his arrest, she was told the police were only giving him a caution.  

The officer in charge of the case told her on February 6 this was because he ‘gave a full and frank confession and exhibited real remorse for his actions.’ 

‘Following the investigation of the matter and subsequent interview of the suspect, a Caution has been given to the suspect owing to the nature of the offence and the intelligence performed,’ added the officer. 

‘Owing to this being his first offence, should he commit any further infractions of this nature in the future, the consequences will be far more strenuous and he has been made aware of this in no uncertain terms.’

The Met’s response has horrified the 27-year-old and increased her trauma response to the incident.

‘What’s really exacerbated my anxiety now is the fact they’ve done nothing about it,’ Elsa said.

‘When I go in the gym, I look around. When I sit down, I find myself looking around, feeling nervous.’

‘That was such a relaxing place for me.

‘In that moment I really felt my sense of vulnerability. I just felt so vulnerable and unsafe.

‘When they arrested him, I thought, “wow, it is going somewhere. They’re gonna do something” and then they didn’t.

‘It makes me on edge. These things happen to women all the time. Sarah Everard’s killer – people like this have convictions like this in their past.

‘We wait until women are raped and killed and really assaulted to do anything.’

Elsa returned to Putney Leisure Centre days after reporting the incident to discover the vents had been taped up, but she claimed the vent had not been taped enough to stop someone looking through. 

‘I’m not blaming them, but I wasn’t having it. It was really inappropriate,’ said Elsa, who lodged a formal complaint against the leisure centre.

Places Leisure, which manages Putney Leisure Centre, told Elsa via emails that it has banned the man from all of its sites after taking immediate action.

The disabled toilet has been temporarily closed while more measures have been taken to cover the vents.

It added: ‘A building contractor has attended the site, and a quote was given and raised for the works to commence.

‘The improvements to the accessible changing area will prevent any further incidents of voyeurism.

‘Please be assured that we are committed to ensuring the safety and security of all our visitors. We are continuously reviewing and enhancing our safety measures to prevent any such incidents in the future.’

Elsa has angrily confronted the police about their cautioning of the perpetrator.

The solicitor noted that a caution can only be granted for an offence like voyeurism if an inspector decides there are exceptional circumstances.

She has asked the Met Police what these exceptional circumstances were and whether an inspector made that decision, but did not receive a response.

The Met declined to tell Metro whether an inspector made the decision to issue the caution and what the exceptional circumstances were.

Elsa said: ‘Why is a man being prioritised? He knew what he did was wrong. The story isn’t good enough.

‘I understand the man gave a confession and apparently showed remorse, but I feel given the overwhelming evidence he had no choice.

‘I don’t personally feel this is exceptional as a circumstance but please do let me know if I am wrong on this.

‘I don’t want someone else to experience what I’ve had to experience from the police, anyone.’

‘Things like this should go to charge. If not, next time why would I bother? Why would I go to the police?

‘I’m not going to back down just because I’ve been told no.

‘In my heart, I think it’s right, so I’m going to chase it and maybe other people will come forward.’

Elsa now hopes to campaign to change the law that no adult offender accused of sexual offence be allowed a caution.

‘This will act as a deterrent to those who perpetuate sexual offences and help encourage victims to come forward and report their experiences,’ she added.

A spokesman for the Met told Metro: ‘Tackling sexual offending in all forms is a key priority for the Met and an area where we are striving to build and maintain the confidence of those who come forward and put their trust in us to investigate allegations.’

‘Where concerns about our investigations are raised, we will endeavour to look at these and ensure they have been carried out to the required standard.’

‘In this case officers assessed all of the evidence and concluded the man who was arrested should be given an adult caution. The woman was informed of this outcome.

‘We are currently reviewing the investigation and will ensure that the woman is kept fully updated.

In a statement to Metro, Places Leisure said: ‘Customer wellbeing and safety is our number one priority.

‘We are sorry for the distress caused to the customer by this incident, who we have since been offering our support to.

‘As soon as we became aware, we took the necessary steps to assess the incident, including carrying out our own investigations whilst also supporting Wandsworth Police with theirs.

‘We can confirm that the individual was banned from all Places Leisure sites on the day of the incident and this ban remains in place.

‘We are currently working with our contractor, who has already attended the site, to make the necessary improvements to the ventilation system.

‘We have blocked the vents as a temporary measure and closed both the accessible changing facilities until the improvements have been made.’ 

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