London - A jealous teacher who admitted spying on his wife with a hidden camera and a tracking device denied being a stalker, claiming that he is in fact a ‘lunatic’.
Gavin Bowditch, 37, grew paranoid that his wife Helen was being unfaithful and came up with a ‘devious’ plan to uncover the truth, a court heard.
He installed a secret video camera under their TV and a GPS tracking device on her car to monitor her movements.
On one occasion, he used one of her old mobile phones to access her email and Facebook account. He then posed as her in messages to his alleged love rival.
In March Mrs Bowditch, 33, a veterinary nurse, discovered the messages and found the hidden camera, which had been in the couple’s living room since January.
She confronted her husband and called police, who found the GPS tracker, which had been active on her car for ten days and accessed three times.
Bowditch, from Fiddington, Somerset, sobbed as he was found guilty of stalking at Taunton Magistrates’ Court.
He had denied he was a stalker because he believed his wife had not suffered the kind of alarm or distress usually experienced by victims.
His solicitor James Mumford told the court Bowditch preferred to consider himself a ‘lunatic’ whose behaviour was ‘not acceptable or justifiable’.
He said his paranoia had been brought on by medical problems and claimed he installed the camera to ‘test it out’ but forgot about it.
But district judge David Taylor said yesterday he was satisfied the offending was stalking and warned Bowditch to expect ‘immediate custody’ when he is sentenced in two weeks.
The judge added: ‘The target is plainly Mrs Bowditch. That’s the reason he had gone to the extremes of covertly installing a tracking device in her vehicle.
‘It matters not that she was unaware these things were happening. The fact she learnt about it later is relevant. When she did find out, I’m quite satisfied it led to alarm and distress.
‘I’m sure there was a course of conduct that can be described as improper, oppressive and calculated to produce alarm and distress.
‘I’m quite satisfied that posing as her on Facebook and installing a tracking device are actions that can be described as and associated with stalking.’
Bowditch, a supply teacher at the Castle School in Taunton, and his wife have been married for seven years. Mrs Bowditch moved out of their home in March, claiming his actions had left her tired and anxious.
She said that she had started making mistakes at work and was experiencing panic attacks and a loss of appetite. She has moved to a secret location and said the gates are locked at her workplace. She has changed her route to work, stopped using Facebook and begun formal divorce proceedings.
During the trial, Mrs Bowditch conceded she did not ‘fear physical harm’ and was initially reluctant to report her husband to the police. She called 999 on March 24 and made a further formal statement in April.
Bowditch was brought in for questioning and confessed. He said the camera was fitted in January, that he accessed his wife’s social media account in February and installed the GPS in her car in March.
Judge Taylor said yesterday: ‘There is no doubt Bowditch posed as Mrs Bowditch to contact a male in an attempt to find information out.
‘There is no doubt he installed a tracking device in her car… to monitor her movements to see if she was having an affair.
‘Allegations about a camera device underneath the TV – it seems to me that admission also demonstrates the intention Bowditch had… to monitor and track his wife.’