Gateshead pervert caught 'upskirting' schoolgirl at Metro station had indecent images of children
by Rob Kennedy · ChronicleLiveA pervert caught "upskirting" a schoolgirl at a Tyneside Metro station had indecent images on his phone.
Lukasz Gajowski brazenly targeted the unsuspecting girl as she waited at the Gateshead station wearing her school uniform. He crept up behind her and lunged forward to take a picture of the victim, who was estimated to have been around 14.
A quick-thinking member of the public noted the time and alerted police, who caught Gajowski after a CCTV still of the perpetrator was published on ChronicleLive.
Newcastle Crown Court heard it was on December 3 2020 that a woman was at Gateshead Interchange when she noticed what Gajowski was up to, although the girl, who was leaning against a wall, was unaware the pervert was behind her.
Amber Walker, prosecuting, told the court: "(The woman) noticed that Mr Gajowski was lunging with his hand and it was outstretched towards the lower part of a skirt of a teenage girl who at the time was wearing a school uniform.
"(The woman) made eye contact with the defendant and he then quickly moved away. The teenage girl had not noticed his presence.
"The woman made a note of the time and she contacted the police and CCTV was retrieved. That footage was the subject of publicity in the local media and Mr Gajowski was recognised by a work colleague who contacted the police."
Miss Walker added: "He was using his mobile phone to record what is colloquially referred to as upskirting."
Gajowski, 39, of Brinkburn Avenue, Bensham, Gateshead, who has no previous convictions, pleaded guilty to voyeurism and three counts of making indecent images of children. He had 21 of the most serious, category A images, 13 category B images and 17 category C images.
They were not images he had taken himself and while most of them were of young teenagers, children as young as four were depicted.
Judge Julie Clemitson said the woman who alerted the police should be commended. And she told Gajowski his behaviour towards the girl was "brazen" with "apparently no regard for the risk someone would see what you were doing".
The judge added: "It appears you have little understanding of the harm your offending might cause. Clearly if that schoolgirl had realised what you were doing it would have had some effect on her. It's impossible to say how great that harm would be but any girl might have been significantly affected by that sort of behaviour."
Gajowski was sentenced to 12 months suspended for two years with 100 hours unpaid work. He must also sign the sex offenders register and be subject to a sexual harm prevention order for ten years.
The court heard he had worked until recently and is now in debt due to the cost of the criminal case and has faced "unconscionable delays" in the case being finalised.
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