A pervert secretly filmed a schoolgirl through her bedroom window.
Mark Helliwell walked free from Liverpool Crown Court despite videoing the teenager from outside her home as she got ready for school.
The court heard that 49-year-old Helliwell - of Howbeck Road in Oxton, Wirral - spied on the schoolgirl on numerous occasions over a four-month period, using a camcorder to video her as she changed in her bedroom and bathroom. When police arrested the dad-of-one, a search of his home uncovered a Panasonic camera and memory card containing intimate clips of the girl - including ones showing her putting on makeup at a mirror before school and someone taking a shower.
READ MORE: Woman seriously injured in frightening Baa Bar attack
The media have not previously been able to report Helliwell's conviction because a judge imposed restrictions preventing him being named publicly. But this ban was lifted following a challenge by the ECHO - backed by Newsquest, the publisher of the Wirral Globe,
A submission by Joe Lewis, head of editorial legal at the ECHO's parent company, Reach plc, successfully argued that the order went against case law and plainly infringed the principle of open justice. He also submitted that the measures imposed were not proportionate.
Helliwell, who has no previous convictions, admitted voyeurism and stalking. He was handed an eight-month imprisonment suspended for a year.
Sentencing, District Judge Jack McGarva told Helliwell: "I'm quite certain she was terrified. Some of her adolescence has been stolen from her, and you have to appreciate this."
Helliwell was also told to complete 200 hours of unpaid work and to sign the sex offenders' register for 10 years. He was also banned from contacting the victim for 10 years under a restraining order.
Revoking the reporting restrictions, District Judge Garva said: "The case was an exceptional case. My concern was for the victim."
However, he said he had carefully considered the representations made by the media and he believed proportionate measures could be taken to protect the victim. Trevor Parry-Jones, defending, told the court that his client was an "intelligent man with many positive aspects" but he said his actions had ensured that his life had "fallen apart", with his wife having since divorced him.
He added: "His sister and brother are aghast - this is not the person they know. He has no friends or support network. Whatever happens, he will live with this for the rest of his life."
READ NEXT: Petty criminal who was banned from Aldi became brutal killer
Thug's family gasp in court over his cruel words to ex as he battered her
Suspected Lidl shoplifter was escaped prisoner
What murder trial jury has heard so far after son stabbed mum to death outside pub
