Mum-of-two left traumatised after finding out paedophile neighbour secretly photographed her sunbathing

A mum-of-two was left shocked after finding out her paedophile neighbour had secretly photographed her sunbathing in her garden.

Kim Leary's neighbour Craig Dunderdale was found to have more than 1,500 extreme porn images as well as dozens of indecent photographs of children.

But while police officers were examining his computer files they also found more than 50 pictures and videos he had taken of Leary, 39, sunbathing in her own garden in her swimsuit during lockdown.

Dunderdale was handed a suspended sentence after pleading guilty to charges of making indecent photographs of a child, possessing extreme pornographic images, possessing a prohibited image of a child and voyeurism.

He has since moved away, but his neighbour has been left traumatised by the experience and is now moving house herself because her own garden reminds her of the experience.

Leary, from Chester, had lived next to Dunderdale for three years before she saw police raiding his home in April 2020 and bundling computers into a van.

She speculated at the time to her husband that it could be something to do with indecent images of children and feared for the safety of her son, then three, after Dunderdale was bailed.

But in March 2021, police contacted the nurse to tell her they had found pictures of her on her neighbour's laptop.

She said: "I always knew he was bit of a weirdo - he was a loner, he didn't seem to have any friends or a partner. If anything I always felt sorry for him for it - never in a million years did I think he’d do anything like this. It turns out he had videos which zoomed in on my bum, boobs and feet - the way he did it was all so pervy.

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"They were taken during lockdown, so it wasn't like I could even get away from it at the time.

"And after it all, he only got a suspended sentence. It feels like he's got away with it.

"Even though he doesn't live here any more, sitting in the garden still makes me paranoid. I can't erase that memory as long as I'm still here.

"I just want people to know what he did. People in his new area might not know what he does.

"He destroyed my life and still has a huge effect on me now - and he could do it to someone else."

She had to stay living next door to him for several months until his case went to court in September 2021.

He pleaded guilty and was sentenced to a ten-month prison term suspended for 18 months at Chester Magistrates Court.

He was also ordered to complete 30 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours unpaid work and was made subject to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order restricting his internet usage and put on the sex offenders' register.

Dunderdale also had to pay £4,000 compensation to Leary but she said it didn't help her come to terms with what he had done.

She said: "He's moved away from Chester and it feels like he just got away with it.

"People probably don't know who he is or what he's done where he is now.

"He could meet someone and they could get married and she'd have no idea about it - he isn't a safe person to be around."