Shower peeper claimed testing 'waterproof' phone

EXETER, England, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- A British man accused of recording a woman showering in a swimming pool cubicle claimed he was testing if his phone was waterproof.

Exeter Magistrates' Court heard Zak Hardy, 18, of Plymouth, England, used his cellphone to take video of a naked woman showering in an adjacent cubicle at the Riverside swimming pool in Exeter.

The woman noticed the phone over the cubicle wall was pointed at her with the blue recording light on and alerted staff, who told police the man moved to a different cubicle before he was confronted.

Hardy told police he had been holding his phone under the shower to test if it was waterproof and he had accidentally activated the camera.

However, his defense lawyer, Nick Bradley, said Hardy now admits he gave a false account to police, and he admitted filming the woman on purpose.

"He accepts what he did," Bradley said. "It is not the most serious offence although it was of course upsetting for the complainant."

Hardy, whose phone was destroyed, was sentenced to 18 months probation and ordered to pay $242 in compensation. He will also be registered as a sex offender for five years, the court ruled.