Ex-BT man tapped private numbers to call adult lines
Creese rang adult chat lines using other households' phone lines
A former BT employee has been given a two-year community order after tapping into villagers' private phone lines to call adult chat services.
Peter Creese, 44, from Countesthorpe, Leicestershire, was ordered to do 180 hours unpaid community work.
Villagers in Willoughby Waterleys, near Countesthorpe, realised many of them were being billed for calls to premium rate lines they had not made.
Leicester Crown court heard he had been sacked from BT for the same activity.
This is about compulsion, inevitably he was going to be caught
Phillip Gibbs, mitigating
In mitigation, the court heard Creese acted on compulsion.
A police and BT investigation was started at the end of 2008 when the offences came to light.
Creese, of Maurice Drive, had been going to a BT junction box on a crossroads near the village and using equipment to tap the phones of random households.
He then rang the adult lines resulting in nearly £1,000 of calls between 2006 and 2009.
He was caught after BT installed a hidden CCTV camera inside the box which captured him tapping the phone lines.
Recorder David Hall said he had narrowly avoided going to prison but must repay the money to his victims who were still out of pocket.
'Dark secret'
Mitigating, Philip Gibbs said: "This is about compulsion, inevitably he was going to be caught.
"He didn't even notice the CCTV equipment in the box.
"He is a decent, supportive, kind, caring, family man. It's his dark secret and escapism from difficult family circumstances."
The defendant now faces disciplinary action by his current employer Eon.
Creese admitted dishonestly obtaining electronic communication services between 2006 and 2009 to make calls to premium rate numbers within intent to avoid payment.
He also admitted possessing apparatus to obtain electronic communication services namely wires, cables, crocodile clip and screwdrivers.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/l...re/8577125.stm
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