Neil Corbel: Met Police counter-terror officer jailed for secretly filming women while posing as airline pilot
A Metropolitan Police officer who secretly filmed dozens of women while posing as an airline pilot has been jailed.
Former counter-terrorism detective Neil Corbel, 40, set up fake photo shoots with models and escorts while claiming to have an “interest in photography”.
He used cameras disguised as everyday items, such as a phone charger, clock, pair of glasses, air freshener and tissue box to film the women from intimate angles and while changing. Corbel was caught after one of his victims became suspicious of a digital clock.
Corbel admitted 19 counts of voyeurism over incidents in London, Manchester and Brighton between January 2017 and February 2020.
Judge Martin Edmunds QC jailed Corbel for a total of three years at Isleworth Crown Court on Friday.
“You used a range of deceptions to induce women to take off their clothes in your presence so you could record videos for your sexual gratification,” he told Corbel.
“You did so using multiple strategically placed covert cameras, sometimes as many as nine.”
The judge said the victims “were entitled to have personal autonomy” and each had set “clear boundaries”.
“It is clear that you derived satisfaction from breaching those boundaries by committing these offences rather than seeking out persons who might have offered the opportunity to video them without deception,” he continued.
Judge Edmunds said Corbel had not “exploited his police role”, equipment or specialist knowledge, and concealed his real job from victims.
“However, it is clear that the revelation to your victims that you were a serving police officer has for many of them seriously undermined their trust in the police, something for those individuals, given their various lines of work, is a particularly serious matter, just as the revelation of your offending must impact on public trust,” he added.
Corbel was suspended during the investigation and resigned from the Metropolitan Police when he pleaded guilty in September. Formal misconduct proceedings are to be held.
Detective Chief Superintendent Marcus Barnett, who leads the Central East Command Unit, said: “Corbel’s actions were truly awful and a number of the women have told us of their shock to learn he was a police officer.
“We share that shock and disgust; it is vital the public feel that they can trust the police and when an officer acts in the manner Corbel did we know what an impact that has on our communities.”
✕ Priti Patel announces inquiry into Sarah Everard murder
As well as filming models, Corbel secretly recorded sex workers, including a woman he “paid to play a non-consensual sex role”, for his own gratification.
His victims said they felt “violated” and had lost trust in the police after finding out he was a senior counter-terrorism officer at the time of the offences.
“The fact he’s a police officer is a huge deal – these people are meant to protect us,” one woman said in a statement after Corbel admitted the crimes.
“Following the murder of Sarah Everard this feels like a very frightening time to be a woman. If we can’t trust the police to protect us, what are we supposed to do?”
He was caught after one of his victims became suspicious during a nude photoshoot at a London hotel, which Corbel had arranged online.
Prosecutor Babatunde Alabi previously told Westminster Magistrates’ Court: “She became suspicious of a digital clock which had been placed on top of Corbel’s laptop computer.
“She felt he had been maneuvering her into positions where her genitals would be in view of the clock.”
The woman noticed a logo on the clock and went to the bathroom to research it on the internet.
She discovered that it was being sold online as a “high-end spyware video recording device” that could be controlled by smartphones.
The woman went straight from the hotel to Bishopsgate Police Station in the City of London on 24 January 2020.
Detectives found that Corbel had given the hotel a fake name and address for the booking, but traced him through details from the Purple Port website he used to approach the model.
UK news in pictures Show all 50 1 /50 UK news in pictures UK news in pictures 28 January 2022 School children take part in a rally in support of British Sign Language becoming a recognised language in the UK, outside the Houses of Parliament, Westminster, as the British Sign Language Private Members’ Bill, introduced by Rosie Cooper MP, reaches its second reading in the House PA UK news in pictures 27 January 2022 A rare six-week-old southern white rhino calf called Zawadi, explores her paddock for the first time at Africa Alive! in Lowestoft PA UK news in pictures 26 January 2022 British Prime Minister Boris Johnson jogs with his dog Dilyn, in London REUTERS UK news in pictures 25 January 2022 A member of staff looks at Francis Bacon’s work ‘Second Version of Triptych 1944’ on display in the Francis Bacon: Man and Beast exhibition at the the Royal Academy of Arts in London PA UK news in pictures 24 January 2022 Rowers (front to back) Charlotte Irving, Kat Cordiner and Abby Johnston, on their way to shatter the world record for rowing across the Atlantic PA UK news in pictures 23 January 2022 A grey seal pup on the beach at Horsey Gap in Norfolk, as the pupping season draws to a close at one of the UK’s most important sites for the mammals PA UK news in pictures 22 January 2022 Participants prepare to take part in the Crisis icebreaker cold water challenge at Tooting Bec Lido in London EPA UK news in pictures 21 January 2022 Willesborough Windmill, a white smock mill built in 1869 is bathed in the morning sunshine as the moon sets behind in Ashford, Kent PA UK news in pictures 20 January 2022 A jet skier jumps the waves off the coast at Blyth in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 19 January 2022 Britain’s Prince William and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, participate in a therapy session with individuals who have experienced the care system, during a visit to the Foundling Museum in London REUTERS UK news in pictures 18 January 2022 Surfers enter the sea as the sun rises over Tynemouth on the North East coast PA UK news in pictures 17 January 2022 Bonhams’ Danny McIlwraith holds a Nigerian polycrome carved wood mask during a photocall for the sale of the Jim Lennon Collection at Bonhams in Edinburgh PA UK news in pictures 16 January 2022 The moon rises above the Spinnaker Tower in Portsmouth, Hampshire PA UK news in pictures 15 January 2022 Demonstrators outside Downing Street during a ‘Kill The Bill’ protest against The Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Bill in London PA UK news in pictures 14 January 2022 Ecologist Emma Smart (left) and retired GP Dr Diana Warner outside HMP Bronzefield, in Surrey, following their release from the prison where Emma undertook a 26-day hunger strike during her incarceration. Ms Smart was sentenced in November, along with other members of Insulate Britain, to serve four months for breaking a High Court injunction by taking part in a blockade at junction 25 of the M25 motorway during the morning rush hour on 8 October last year PA UK news in pictures 13 January 2022 A TV presenter holds a copy of a newspaper outside 10 Downing Streetafter the Prime Minister apologised for attending a gathering of colleagues in the Number Ten garden in May 2020, while the UK was in strict lockdown due to the Coronavirus pandemic Getty UK news in pictures 12 January 2022 Fitness guru Derrick Evans after receiving an MBE during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 11 January 2022 A couple walk underneath an umbrella during wet weather on Westminster Bridge in central London PA UK news in pictures 10 January 2022 A jogger passes the Covid Memorial Wall in London AP UK news in pictures 9 January 2021 The sun rises over horses at Seaton Sluice in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 8 January 2022 Riders compete during the Veterans Men’s race at the UK Cyclo-Cross National Championships 2022 in Ardingly, south of London AFP/Getty UK news in pictures 7 January 2022 A dog looks out of a car window at the wintry conditions in Killeshin, Co. Laois PA UK news in pictures 6 January 2022 People walk through frost and mist alongside a frozen lake during sunrise in Bushy Park, London REUTERS UK news in pictures 5 January 2022 A skier jumps on the slopes at Allenheads in the Pennines to the north of Weardale in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 4 January 2022 Freshly-fallen snow covers houses in Corbridge, near Hexham in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 3 January 2022 Dean Morrison, 13, receives his Covid-19 vaccine from student nurse Anthony McLaughlin during a vaccination clinic at the Glasgow Central Mosque PA UK news in pictures 2 January 2022 Konastantinos Tsimikas of Liverpool with Chelsea’s Mason Mount during the Premier League match at Stamfrod Bridge Liverpool FC/Getty UK news in pictures 1 January 2022 New Year’s Eve Lasers, drones and fireworks illuminate the sky in front of the Royal Naval College in Greenwich shortly after midnight in London EPA UK news in pictures 31 December 2021 Competitors in fancy dress run across the Pennine tops near Haworth, West Yorkshire, in the annual Auld Lang Syne Fell race which attracts hundreds of runners every year PA UK news in pictures 30 December 2021 Sunrise at Bamburgh Castle in Northumberland PA UK news in pictures 29 December 2021 The Very Revd Dr Robert Willis, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, looks at Becket, a six month old red-billed chough as he visits Wildwood Wildlife Park in Kent on the anniversary of the murder of Thomas Becket PA UK news in pictures 28 December 2021 Troops of the Household Cavalry are seen reflected in a puddle during the changing of the Queen’s Life Guard, on Horse Guards Parade, in central London PA UK news in pictures 27 December 2021 A pedestrian walks past a winter sale sign outside a John Lewis store on Oxford street in London Getty UK news in pictures 26 December 2021 Riders take their bikes through the snow near Castleside, County Durham PA UK news in pictures 25 December 2021 Patrick Corkery wears a santa hat and beard as waves crash over him at Forty Foot near Dublin during a Christmas Day dip PA UK news in pictures 24 December 2021 People stand inside Kings Cross Station on Christmas Eve in London Reuters UK news in pictures 23 December 2021 Christmas shoppers fill the car park at Fosse Shopping Park in Leicester PA UK news in pictures 22 December 2021 The sun rises behind the stones as people gather for the winter solstice at Stonehenge. Getty UK news in pictures 21 December 2021 People take part in a winter solstice swim at Portobello Beach in Edinburgh to mark the solstice and to witness the dawn after the longest night of the year PA UK news in pictures 20 December 2021 An auction employee displays poultry to buyers and sellers attending the Christmas Poultry Sale at York Auction Centre in Murton PA UK news in pictures 19 December 2021 Joao Moutinho of Wolverhampton Wanderers looks on during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux Getty Images UK news in pictures 18 December 2021 Freight lorries queuing at the port of Dover in Kent PA UK news in pictures 17 December 2021 Newly elected Liberal Democrat MP Helen Morgan, bursts ‘Boris’ bubble’ held by colleague Tim Farron, as she celebrates following her victory in the North Shropshire by-election PA UK news in pictures 16 December 2021 Brussels sprouts are harvested by workers as they prepare for the busy Christmas period near Boston in Lincolnshire PA UK news in pictures 15 December 2021 Lewis Hamilton is made a Knight Bachelor by the Prince of Wales at Windsor Castle PA UK news in pictures 14 December 2021 The Royal Liver Buildings surrounded by early morning fog in Liverpool PA UK news in pictures 13 December 2021 People queue outside a walk-in Covid-19 vaccination centre at St Thomas’s Hospital in Westminster Getty Images UK news in pictures 12 December 2021 People take part in the Big Leeds Santa Dash in Roundhay Park, Leeds PA UK news in pictures 11 December 2021 People arrive at a Covid-19 vaccination centre at Elland Road in Leeds, PA UK news in pictures 10 December 2021 Stella Moris speaks to the media after the US Government won its High Court bid to overturn a judge’s decision not to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange PA
Corbel admitted setting up the clock and other camera devices, and told police had had “filmed many more models and sex workers covertly” for his own sexual gratification.
“He said he used the name Harisson and claimed to be an airline pilot,” Mr Alabi told the court.
At Corbel’s home, investigators found a range of spying devices, and the DSLR camera he claimed to use for photography but also used to filmed women covertly.
Police discovered recordings of at least 51 women, but some were thought to be consensual, some were outside the UK and some victims’ identities were not traced.
Of the 31 women identified and contacted, 19 agreed to make statements against the police officer.
Of those, 16 were models booked by Corbel for photoshoots and the other three were escorts, who consented to sexual activity but not being filmed.
They told how Corbel approached them online, and told them that he was an airline pilot called Harrison.
In victim impact statements read to the court, women said he was “funny and charismatic” and seemed to be a nice person.
“He told me he was a pilot and I believed him, he seemed friendly,” one woman said.
“It sickens me how easy it was for him to lie all the way through the photoshoot.”
Edward Henry QC, defending, previously told Westminster Magistrates’ Court the offences were not committed while Corbel was on duty and that he did not utilise his role or benefits as a police officer.
The barrister said he had been a police officer for 13 years, helped thwart a terror plot “saving countless lives” and responded to the 2017 London Bridge attack.
He told the court that Corbel suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder and sex addiction, adding: “The sex addiction was used as a sort of medication to deal with the stress of his perfectionism in serving the public.”
Additional reporting by PA
