WARNING - GRAPHIC CONTENT: Footage of swinging couple's patio romp taken by disgraced police officer using force chopper is released
Ex-police officer, Adrian Pogmore, was in tears as he received the sentence at Sheffield Crown Court this morning for filming the married couple as well as five other people who were sunbathing naked in the county.
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Hide AdPogmore, 51, of Guilthwaite Crescent, Whiston, Rotherham, admitted to four counts of misconduct relating to four recordings taken using the force aicraft between 2007 and 2012.
Two serving police officers and two helicopter pilots were tried and cleared of the same offence after telling a jury that they had no idea what Pogmore was doing with the high-powered camera on board the aircraft. Pogmore made an 11-minute long video of the couple, that was shown in evidence to jurors.
The court was told that the couple were part of the South Yorkshire swinging scene along with Pogmore, and were aware that they were being observed by Pogmore in the police helicopter as they had sex in a variety of different positions on the patio of their property.
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Hide AdHowever, the couple said while they were aware they were being observed, they did not know, or consent, to being filmed. The couple, who are not being named for legal reasons, said they became involved with swinging after visiting a Sheffield sex club.
Pogmore gave the couple a copy of the video, which they kept until they decided to turn their backs on the swinging scene a number of years ago. The photograph stills used in this article were taken from footage released by the Crown Prosecution Service this afternoon, following the conclusion of the case.The other videos taken by Pogmore showed a mum sunbathing naked alongside her bikini clad-daughters in her Rotherham garden, and of two couples sunbathing on private land in Rotherham and Doncaster.
The case has provided further humiliation for the South Yorkshire force which is still reeling from its failures in the Rotherham child abuse scandal, the continued controversy over the 1989 Hillsborough disaster and the conduct of its investigation into Sir Cliff Richard.Last year, prosecutors announced Sir Cliff would face no charges and the star is now suing the force and the BBC over the filming of a South Yorkshire Police raid on his home. This is not the first time a police helicopter crew has found itself under scrutiny for alleged breaches of privacy.
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Hide AdIn 2015, a picture tweeted by a police helicopter team showing comedian Michael McIntyre standing in a London street was investigated by the Information Commissioner's Office for a possible breach of data protection laws.