'I felt utterly broken when I found out what he did, I am absolutely disgusted'

A woman said she 'felt utterly broken' when she found out a pervert had been secretly spying on her.

Prolific sex offender Alexander Kerr spent years secretly filming women and children in states of undress in Cheshire, the Liverpool Echo reports. He filmed young girls playing in their swimming costumes and changing out of their school uniforms.

One of the girls was as young as 10. The 62-year-old 'knew what he doing was wrong, yet he carried on anyway', police said.

He even continued his sick crimes after officers came knocking on his door. Almost 2,800 indecent images of children were uncovered on his devices. Kerrs' victims spoke out in court on Wednesday (October 30) as the sex offender was locked up for two years and eight months. In a statement read to Liverpool Crown Court on her behalf, one of the complainants said: "When I first found out, it destroyed my world forever.

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"I have been struggling every since. I now see the world as a negative place, seeing only the worst in people and situations.

"This situation has caused me to fear anyone or anything I don't know. The situation has left me feeling incredibly vulnerable and powerless.

"I am struggling to see the good in the world. I want to feel myself again. My once happy childhood has now been tainted."

Another added: "I'm on pins, constantly worrying about people around me. I feel absolutely disgusted and dirty.

"It makes me completely and utterly broken that anyone could do something so disgusting. I was in shock when I first found out.

"As time goes on, it's affecting me more and more. I really hope that one day I can get over this situation, but to be brutally honest I don't think it will ever leave my memory."

Kerr was initially arrested on August 31, 2022, after police received information indicating that he had been downloading indecent images of children. Some 11 electronic devices were seized from the 62-year-old at this stage, with six being found to contain illegal pictures and videos.

Suzanne Payne, prosecuting, detailed how officers discovered that he had collected a total of 432 category A indecent images, those showing the most serious forms of abuse. This consisted of 80 stills and 352 videos. Kerr was also found to have collected 357 images in category B and 816 in category C, as well as 44 extreme pornographic images.

According to charge sheets, the latter depicted sexual acts involving dogs. An SD card was also recovered from his camera, which uncovered the fact that he had secretly taken pictures of a 10-year-old girl who was playing with other children in the garden of a house while she was wearing only her swimming costume.

Kerr had meanwhile videoed a 15-year-old girl changing out of her school uniform in her bedroom and recorded a third victim 'moving from room to room' in her home before capturing her engaged in a 'private act'. This led to him being arrested for a second time in August last year.

PCs seized a further 12 electronic devices from him at this stage, with their contents revealing that he had gone on to secretly film another woman in her apartment wearing only her underwear as she undressed. In her statement, she said of the moment she learned she had been targeted by Kerr: "Everything came crashing down.

"I couldn't sleep for days. When I did, I had horrible nightmares.

"I just don't feel myself. When I saw the footage, just me living my life and getting dressed, it felt so surreal. I couldn't stop thinking about what he could have been doing while he was filming."

Kerr, of Rushmore Drive, Widnes, was subsequently charged. He pleaded guilty to nine counts of making indecent images of children (category A, B, and C), two counts of possessing indecent images of a children, one count of possessing extreme pornography, two counts of taking indecent images of children, two counts of voyeurism and one count of possessing a prohibited image of a child.

Jeremy Rawson, defending, told the court: "He is, in my submission, of positive good character, with a long history of employment. He has taken substantial steps to address his offending behaviour.

"Of course, there is remorse. He is a married man. His wife is in court. She does work, but does not earn sufficiently to maintain the lifestyle they have."

Following his sentencing, Detective Constable Michael McGuinness said: "Kerr knew that what he was doing was wrong, yet he carried on anyway. During his interview, he told officers that he accidentally downloaded indecent images of children onto his devices while searching for aviation videos.

"But when he realised the significant amount of evidence gathered against him, he had no choice but to confess and plead guilty. This wasn’t just a one-off incident - over a sustained period of time he downloaded more than 2,000 indecent images of vulnerable victims for his own sexual gratification – behind every image is a child suffering.

"Not only that, but he secretly recorded four women and girls, invading their privacy within their own homes. Kerr is a prolific and dangerous sex offender, and I am glad to see him behind bars.

"We are committed to pursuing and bringing to justice those who engage in online child sexual activity and those who play a part in the sexual abuse of children. I hope that the sentence handed down to Kerr reinforces the message that nobody is above the law and deters others from committing similar offences."

Kerr was also ordered to sign the sex offenders' register for life. He was handed a sexual harm prevention order.

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