Housemate who secretly recorded us has been made a lecturer at UK university

[Smurfsarethefuture]

I cannot be unreasonable here. I wrote on here about two yrs ago about my housemate who hid a camera in our kitchen. He is now a lecturer at a London uni.

The police were not interested neither was landlady- I didn’t contact university and am now wondering should I?

@Smurfsarethefuture

I didn’t get past the desk clerk at the station who said it was the landlady’s responsibility.

This is shocking to me but clearly not to others. I haven’t contacted his university (also where he did his PhD) as I can see without evidence it all looks strange and as someone has said, rules exist to protect us all from malicious allegations. Just feel there must be a legitimate course of action to take in a situation like this and frustrated that there isn’t.

Sorry, missed this. The police never spoke to him? So there is no record to establish a pattern of behaviour?

He sounds like a grade A dickhead and an awful lack of support from your landlady/police.

It does leave you a bit in the wind now though.

No, I don't think HR keep notes from random people with grievances against staff. Or I bloody hope they don't.

Not that you're in the wrong, or to defend his behaviour mind you.

"Wow. Ok then. Of course some teachers are not going to be great people....but there’s ‘not great people’ and sex criminals. I’m comfortable with making a distinction, personally!"

My point is exactly that - some extremes aside - you can't tell if someone is "great" or "not great" from one episode in their past.

@DappledThings

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3672606-Housemate-set-camera-up-in-house-without-our-knowledge?pg=4

This one? A lot of people there suggested you contact his supervisor for his PhD. Did you do that? They might have been more interested in the ethical side of it and censured him than the police would have been.

But it's really not up to a university to censure or discipline people for behaviour which is not connected to the university of their studies there. That's what the police are for.

Yes @DappledThings. That’s it

Right, so if a woman is abused or assaulted or raped, unless she reports it immediately and is one of the tiny number of victims who see their assailant convicted, then she is never allowed to speak of it again or raise concerns through safeguarding channels if that person is later appointed to a position of trust or authority?

A lot of people chatting misogynistic shit on this thread. Organisations have safeguarding policies to deal with situations like this, because actually it is important and does matter.

An employer does not require criminal convictions to take action against employees under their own policies about conduct. They do not have to meet a criminal burden of proof to take disciplinary action. They do not have to have a criminal conviction to follow safeguarding policies.

When somebody displays "low level" abusive behaviour like this man, you are a fool to ignore it. People leaping to so vigorously defend his right to get away with it are why abusers are able to stay in positions of power escalating their abuse.

Defending his so-called right to get away with this without consequences is no different to defending his actions.

You cannot ‘censure’ someone for ethics for something alleged to have been done by someone off the street. Come on folks.what op describes sounds odd but there is no conviction no police caution even seemingly no offence etc etc. Leave him be before you are the one getting into difficulty and acting inappropriately.
If this were me and someone contacted my employer in these circumstances I would take action against them. Civil action for repetitional damage and losses.

@bongsuhan

"12 years later I found out he was a teacher in a secondary school! I wrote to the Head but he wasn't interested and very much turned it on me to look like a bitter vengeful hag hmm on the upside he applied to the school I currently teach at a couple of years ago and when I told my (amazing) Head what he'd done he believed me and bumped him off the interview list and told him exactly why. Ex denied it and made noises about legal action but as suspected it came to nothing."

This is completely insane, almost as wild as the OP. 12 years later! I can imagine the posters trying to rationalise this behaviour as some sort of safekeeping, but it belongs on one of those petty revenge threads.

Nothing 'petty' about the revenge, totally barmy! If we look back to our days as students etc how many of us cringe at things we did that, now, as responsible adults, some even in 'positions of trust', we wouldn't dream of doing? That's not referring to anything illegal, just stupid.

Hallelujah, the other thread has an answer after five pages of evasive responses from the OP!

He is working on a project sequencing film scenes through machine learning. I presume he will say he wanted to track motion in front of a lense, etc, etc. When I found the camera I said no recording bt then found he had moved camera to front room and started recorded front of house. Then set up a different thing (not sure what it is) to automate watering plants that works from his computer It doesn't have a camera on it (that I can see) or recording device.

The university is not going to be interested.

I think you are getting some VERY weird responses here OP. You should trust your instincts, practices like these are often warning signs and will escalate. This creepy, voyeuristic behaviour should have been picked up in his enhanced DBS check, if the police noted it. Sounds like they didn’t (sounds like you had a disinterested police officer, I’m sorry about that). I don’t know if universities have a safeguarding lead for students, but there will be welfare officers and I think you should alert them. Just be factual, then you’ve done the responsible thing. It may fit into a bigger picture for them, or it may be not an issue at all. But at least you’ve given them the intelligence to decide on.

What an odd thread.

Op seems to want to fight with everyone in it and criticise their responses, rather than starting with giving enough information about the case for anyone to understand the context and what she’s particularly upset about.

I just wonder if in real life Op finds conflict with lots of people and poor communication and misunderstandings? Of course, putting cameras in rooms and filming people isn’t what anyone of us would like, but some cases of this probably aren’t illegal, and not surprisingly, many years on, there’s not likely to much happening and the best course of action is to put it behind you and move on.

Hope you can move in Op and cut off your interest in this person….by following what they are up to, you are fuelling your upset.

It sounds like someone was helping themselves to food and he was wanting to catch them out. Your acting like he put a camera in the shower room or bathroom or someone's bedroom. You trying to malicious and cause harm to someone career.

I was going to say let it go but then i read it was a london university and not a provincial peasant nursery.

@bongsuhan

"Wow. Ok then. Of course some teachers are not going to be great people....but there’s ‘not great people’ and sex criminals. I’m comfortable with making a distinction, personally!"

My point is exactly that - some extremes aside - you can't tell if someone is "great" or "not great" from one episode in their past.

Yup. And that attitude to safeguarding is why Ian Huntley was able to murder two little girls called Holly and Jessica.

Well done.

From your other post:

“He is working on a project sequencing film scenes through machine learning. I presume he will say he wanted to track motion in front of a lense, etc, etc. When I found the camera I said no recording bt then found he had moved camera to front room and started recorded front of house. Then set up a different thing (not sure what it is) to automate watering plants that works from his computer It doesn't have a camera on it (that I can see) or recording device.”

So for you to now drip feed “safeguarding” when you weren’t get the responses you liked is off. Yes, you would be absolutely bonkers to follow this up with his employer. He didn’t set it up in your bedroom or the bathroom.

He’s an inconsiderate arsehole for doing it and I’d be furious too, but I’d also accept in the absence of malice/voyeourism no offence committed. I’d also not be giving it headspace two years on.

You admit yourself there seems to have been no ill intent. From your other post you clearly despise the guy and you’re mixing that up with this, especially his professional success and your relatively similar fields. Don’t waste anymore headspace on him.

@HeyDemonsItsYaGirl

Hallelujah, the other thread has an answer after five pages of evasive responses from the OP!

I honestly don’t know where you are getting that

What law do you believe he broke when he recorded you, OP?

This is obviously something that is still bothering you, and that's fine. We all have the right to decide when someone has violated our 'personal space'. And I understand that your fear is that he is in a position of authority and if there was a nefarious reason for his filming, that he may use that authority to his advantage.

I agree with others that at this point there probably isn't much that can be done. But if I were you, in order to put my mind at rest, I'd either pay for a consultation with a solicitor or I would speak to the police to see if they think there is any purpose to contacting the university or if it could spectacularly backfire on you.

Seriously though id tell them, who gives a shit if you look odd, you might save somebody from something awful.

But it's really not up to a university to censure or discipline people for behaviour which is not connected to the university of their studies there
It was his previous university where he was studying that the previous thread suggested might have an interest given that he might be breaking breaking ethical terms of his PhD. Not his current employer.

My rapist hasn't been convicted, but I was still able to report him via safeguarding channels to protect other people.

People are clearly posting bullshit about stuff they know fuck all about.

OP, for a more reasonable response to this sort of voyeurism, see the responses here: www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/4320931-husband-spied-on-me-through-blink-camera

@WombatChocolate

Wow. I am speechless.

Criminal barrister here. Op strongly advise you not to speak to a safeguarding lead at ‘the university’ about a 12 year old event about which the police were notified and which resulted in no action by the police.
Not weird response I hope. Very much in your own interest not to do that op.

Lived in a shared house where LL (live in) put cameras in the kitchen after people's milk and coffee started disappearing. Good thing too as we saw the culprit gulping down milk straight from the bottle 🤢