Met detective who secretly filmed women loses sentence appeal

Neil Corbel's barrister said the former officer had a diagnosed sex addiction

A former senior Metropolitan Police officer who used hidden spy cameras to film naked women has lost a bid to have his three-year jail term cut.

Det Insp Neil Corbel committed his crimes in hotel rooms and Airbnbs in London, Brighton and Manchester.

He used cameras in tissue boxes, phone chargers and glasses to film women.

The 41-year-old was jailed at Isleworth Crown Court earlier this year after pleading guilty to 19 counts of voyeurism.

On Tuesday he challenged his sentence at the Court of Appeal, with his lawyers arguing it was "too long" in all the circumstances.

His barrister, Edward Henry QC, argued the crown court judge did not take enough account of Corbel's sex addiction or of a medical report which gave details of it.

Corbel booked the Leonardo Royal London Tower Bridge hotel for one of his photoshoots, the court heard

He also argued the judge did not give enough weight to Corbel's lack of previous convictions, his previous good character, his "extreme vulnerability" in prison as a police officer or the fact he had "considerably aided" the investigation into his crimes.

Mr Henry told the court: "His remorse was genuine and profound and the mitigation... was very considerable."

But, dismissing his appeal, Mrs Justice Cutts said the judge had not made any error when setting the length of the sentence.

She said his crimes caused his victims "distress, anxiety and a reduction in confidence" and also said the discovery he was a police officer caused an "additional sense of betrayal for the victims and was likely to have an impact on public confidence in policing".

• ‘A Met Police officer secretly filmed me naked’

The court heard Corbel committed the offences between January 2017 and February 2020.

During his sentencing, it was heard Corbel claimed to be an airline pilot with an interest in photography.

He met many of his victims through an online agency, arranging photoshoots with them.

Sixteen women were models booked by Corbel, while three others were escorts or sex workers who consented to sexual activity but did not agree to being filmed.

One victim challenged Corbel in 2019 after finding a pair of glasses which had a charging port while she was giving him a massage.

He was eventually caught after the same woman became suspicious that a digital clock in a hotel room might contain a camera.