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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Aunt angry at lawyer voyeur case | Aunt angry at lawyer voyeur case |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| The family of a teenager photographed secretly in a cubicle of a swimming pool by a Belfast solicitor say they are angry at how the case was handled. | The family of a teenager photographed secretly in a cubicle of a swimming pool by a Belfast solicitor say they are angry at how the case was handled. |
| Richie Shaw MacRitchie, 31, admitted taking the pictures but a charge of voyeurism against him was thrown out. | |
| The magistrate said that as the young woman had been wearing her swimsuit, rather than been naked, or in her underwear, the charge could not stand. | The magistrate said that as the young woman had been wearing her swimsuit, rather than been naked, or in her underwear, the charge could not stand. |
| "We as a family are at our wits end over this," her aunt said. | "We as a family are at our wits end over this," her aunt said. |
| "My niece is distraught: she's lost her place in college over this, she has changed the way she dresses, the way she looks," she told the BBC. | "My niece is distraught: she's lost her place in college over this, she has changed the way she dresses, the way she looks," she told the BBC. |
| The woman, who did not want to be identified, said the family had not even been notified that the case was coming before the magistrates. | The woman, who did not want to be identified, said the family had not even been notified that the case was coming before the magistrates. |
| 'Sorry' | 'Sorry' |
| Mr MacRitchie was accused of using his phone to film the 17-year-old in a unisex changing room at the Falls Leisure Centre last October. | Mr MacRitchie was accused of using his phone to film the 17-year-old in a unisex changing room at the Falls Leisure Centre last October. |
| He admitted taking the pictures, but denied the charge of voyeurism. | He admitted taking the pictures, but denied the charge of voyeurism. |
| At an earlier hearing, the defendant said he was sorry and realised he should not have done it. | At an earlier hearing, the defendant said he was sorry and realised he should not have done it. |
| In her ruling Magistrate Fiona Bagnall said she was satisfied the accused had recorded the images for sexual gratification. | In her ruling Magistrate Fiona Bagnall said she was satisfied the accused had recorded the images for sexual gratification. |
| However, Magistrate Bagnall said she was dismissing the charge because the teenager had not been filmed carrying out a private act. | However, Magistrate Bagnall said she was dismissing the charge because the teenager had not been filmed carrying out a private act. |
| She said it was accepted the defendant filmed her in her bikini, but under the Sexual Offences Act that could not be considered a "private act". | She said it was accepted the defendant filmed her in her bikini, but under the Sexual Offences Act that could not be considered a "private act". |
| She said for that to have happened, under the terms of the act, the woman would have had to have been naked or wearing only underwear. | She said for that to have happened, under the terms of the act, the woman would have had to have been naked or wearing only underwear. |
| As a result she said she had no alternative but to accede to a defence application to dismiss the voyeurism charge. | As a result she said she had no alternative but to accede to a defence application to dismiss the voyeurism charge. |