Postgrad jailed for taking secret photos of girls showering in his halls
He was caught when they spotted his bright yellow Minions phone case
Benjamin LowrieA sex pest Masters student who snapped naked pictures of girls showing in his halls has been jailed for six months.
Qilel Ren – who goes by “Randy Ren” on Facebook – was caught when his bright yellow Minions phone case was spotted poking over the side of the bathroom stall.
Police arrested Southampton Computer Science student Ren and found 47 photos of his two victims on his phone.
Judge Peter Henry at Southampton Crown Court told the he had committed a “grave violation”.
Qilel Ren goes by ‘Randy Ren’ on Facebook
At first Ren claimed he took the pictures just to prove it was possible, but later admitted they were for his own enjoyment.
And one of the women was so traumatised by the incident that she has since left her course and moved to a different university.
Judge Henry said: “This is not an offence where people were subjected to physical contact but nonetheless what you did was a grave violation so far as these two women are concerned.
“It’s hardly surprising that they felt uncomfortable and paranoid and violated.
“You could only have done that for your own sexual gratification and there’s some recognition that this is the reason for it.
“It’s quite clear that both these women have been significantly affected by what you did.”
Ren was caught out when his Minions phone case was spotted
The court was told that Ren was studying at the university on a one-year computer science course and submitted his final paper towards getting a master’s degree just days ago.
He had initially planned to stay in Southampton and complete a PhD but dropped the idea after being arrested.
In mitigation the court heard that Ren, who is originally from China, had become isolated and lonely during his studies.
Victoria Hill, representing Ren, said: “He felt regret and was disgusted with himself and deleted the pictures from his phone.
“He said it was a relief when he was arrested because the conduct he pursued was not right and he said he made wrong decisions and needs to pay for them.”
Judge Henry sentenced Ren, who pleaded guilty to two charges of voyeurism, to six months in prison.