Newport Man Jailed 10 Years for Rape and Secret Filming

A Newport man described as a “monster” by his victim has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for rape and secretly filming women using toilets.

Ian Hennah, 58, of Hampden Court, raped a woman while she slept and filmed multiple women without their knowledge using hidden cameras. The case came to light when police seized a hard drive containing the disturbing images and videos. 📷⚖️

Cardiff Crown Court heard on Thursday that Hennah had placed secret cameras in toilets to film women, taken “upskirting” images, and photographed his rape victim’s naked body whilst she was asleep.

The rape victim told the court in a victim impact statement: “This has changed my whole life… (My) world has been turned upside down… After waking up to him having sex with me, that’s when my anxiety started… How do I process something like this? This should never happen to anyone… It has taken years to process everything and to return to some kind of normality. The years that followed have been the hardest of my life, I felt suicidal, spoke to the Samaritans and needed relief from pain I was going through… For a year I didn’t leave the house, I didn’t want to face people, I felt unsure of myself, stopped going to the gym and drank heavily to erase everything out… I can only describe him as a monster.”

One voyeurism victim said: “When I first found out there was a video of me I did not feel like it was real… I just pushed it to the back of my mind…. Upon seeing a screenshot of my face, it became more real… My privacy was violated and it made me think differently. I didn’t think this would happen in a million years… Since the incident I rarely go to the toilet in public and I’m in constant fear there will be cameras and wait to go in my own home… I feel so disgusted and violated and will never understand why… I believe he needs serious help and I hope prison time will give him that.”

A second victim stated: “At first I was in denial how someone could record me going to the toilet… I pushed it to the back of my mind but when it came back out again I have really struggled but have tried to not let it bother me… Now it bothers me more than ever. I’m scared of going in public toilets on the chance some creep has put cameras in there. Each and every day I think why did he do it, what did he do with the footage and does he understand how wrong it was to violate someone’s privacy like that?… He is a vile man who deserves to face the consequences, not just for what he inflicted on me but on others.”

The third voyeurism victim said: “When I found out what (the defendant) had done, I was completely in shock. It affected my mental health dramatically. I didn’t know how to deal with it and turned to drink as a form of coping mechanism. I had to go on anxiety medication and only have recently I have been able to come off them… It’s affected my work, I had to have time off to process what happened. I’ve found myself not able to go to public toilets anymore and feel extremely anxious in public areas… Only now am I realising, now things are all over, I can accept I am a victim.”

Defence barrister Abigail Jackson said Hennah had experienced a “difficult period of his life” following his daughter’s death in 2007, and that he was “disgusted and ashamed” by his behaviour. The court heard alcohol had become an issue for the defendant.

Hennah was convicted of rape and pleaded guilty to voyeurism, outraging public decency, and operating equipment beneath clothing without consent. Judge Richard Kember sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment.

He was made subject to sex offender notification requirements for life and will face a Sexual Harm Prevention Order and restraining orders at a later date.