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Met Police officer who secretly filmed women changing is jailed

Undated handout photo issued by the Metropolitan Police of former counter-terrorism officer Neil Corbel who pleaded guilty to 19 voyeurism offences at Westminster Magistrates' Court. Corbel, a Metropolitan Police Detective Inspector, posed as a pilot to secretly film naked models using spy cameras after arranging fake photo shoots, and used devices hidden in items including tissue boxes, phone chargers, an air freshener, and glasses to video his unsuspecting victims. Issue date: Monday September 13, 2021.
Former counter-terrorism officer Neil Corbelhas been jailed for three years (PA)

A former Metropolitan Police Officer who secretly filmed woman getting changed while posing as an airline pilot has been jailed for three years.

Former counter-terrorism inspector Neil Corbel, 40, targeted at least 19 women with fake model photo shoots in London, Brighton and Manchester, from January 2017 to February 2020.

He posed as an airline pilot who wanted to improve his photography portfolio.

The cameras were hidden in everyday items, including tissue boxes, phone chargers, air fresheners, glasses, keys and headphones, to video his unsuspecting victims for up to four hours.

Married father-of-two Corbel, was caught after a model, who had agreed to pose naked for a photo shoot, became suspicious of a digital clock.

An internet search of the brand name revealed the device was a high-end spyware video-recording device which could be controlled from a smartphone.

Detective Inspector Neil Corbel, 40, leaving Westminster Magistrates' Court, London. Picture date: Tuesday November 2, 2021.
Detective Inspector Neil Corbel, 40, leaving Westminster Magistrates' Court in November (PA)

When he was arrested, Corbel told police he was addicted to pornography and officers found images of 51 women on his hard drive, with 19 victims, including 16 models and three escorts, agreeing to make statements against him.

Corbel, who resigned after being suspended by the Met, where he was attached to the Continuous Policing Improvement Command, pleaded guilty to 19 voyeurism offences at Westminster Magistrates’ Court in September.

Judge Martin Edmunds QC jailed Corbel for a total of three years at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday for the offences.

“You used a range of deceptions to induce women to take off their clothes in your presence so you could record videos for your sexual gratification,” he told Corbel.

“You did so using multiple strategically placed covert cameras, sometimes as many as nine.”

The judge said the victims “were entitled to have the personal autonomy” and each had set “clear boundaries”.

“It is clear that you derived satisfaction from breaching those boundaries by committing these offences rather than seeking out persons who might have offered the opportunity to video them without deception,” he continued.

Detective Inspector Neil Corbel, 40, leaving Westminster Magistrates' Court, London. Picture date: Tuesday November 2, 2021.
When he was arrested, Corbel told police he was addicted to pornography (PA)

“You did not exploit your police role either to locate or intimidate your victims – rather it was something concealed from them.

“Further, the covert recording devices you used appear to have been readily available to purchase on the internet.

“There is no evidence you used police equipment or specialist police knowledge.

“However, it is clear that the revelation to your victims that you were a serving police officer has for many of them seriously undermined their trust in the police, something for those individuals, given their various lines of work, is a particularly serious matter, just as the revelation of your offending must impact on public trust.”

Three of Corbel’s victims watched on as he was jailed, having faced him in court to read their victim impact statements.

One model, who agreed to pose for a “fashion and artistic nude shoot”, was visibly angry as she told Corbel his crimes had “affected every aspect of my life”.

“I have pulled so much of my hair out with stress I have bald spots and have had to turn down work,” she said, showing her scalp to the court.

Another victim said in November: "I felt he abused my trust and it sickens me. I felt so gullible and stupid. I felt like the control over my body was ripped away from me.

"I came close to leaving the modelling world. He ’s the reason why I’m now accompanied to most of my shoots because I feel anxious."