A Metropolitan Police counter-terrorism detective, Neil Corbel, has been imprisoned for three years following his admission to 19 counts of voyeurism. The 40-year-old officer exploited his position by posing as an airline pilot with an interest in photography to lure women into fake photoshoots, where he secretly recorded them undressing and engaging in intimate activities without their knowledge or consent.
The offences occurred between 2017 and 2020 in hotel rooms and Airbnbs located in London, Brighton, and Manchester. Corbel ingeniously concealed miniature cameras in everyday objects such as tissue boxes, phone chargers, and glasses to capture footage of 16 models he met through the online platform PurplePort, as well as three escorts or sex workers who had agreed to sexual activity but explicitly not to being filmed. Prosecutor Babatunde Alabi detailed how Corbel's deception extended to booking professional-looking venues, like the Leonardo Royal London Tower Bridge hotel, to maintain the ruse.
At Isleworth Crown Court, the profound impact on the victims was laid bare through emotional impact statements. One model described how her life had been 'completely derailed', leading to severe stress that caused her to pull out chunks of her hair, resulting in bald spots and lost work opportunities. She explained, 'This experience has affected every aspect of my life. I am used to taking calculated risks, now I turn down opportunities. I have been in therapy ever since. I am paranoid and jumpy and have panic attacks.' Another victim highlighted the betrayal of trust in law enforcement, stating, 'The fact he is a policeman is a huge deal. These people are meant to protect us. Following the murder of Sarah Everard this feels a very frightening time to be a woman. If the police can't protect us what can we do?' Judge Martin Edmunds QC emphasised the gravity, noting that the revelation of Corbel's role as a police officer had 'seriously undermined their trust in the police' and broader public confidence.
Corbel's arrest stemmed from suspicions raised by victims; in one instance, a woman discovered a suspicious pair of glasses with a charging port during a massage in 2019, and in another, a digital clock in a hotel room was found to contain a camera. Despite his diagnosis as a sex addict, with roots in his childhood as argued by his barrister Edward Henry QC, the court rejected mitigation that downplayed his abuse of authority. Henry contended that the addiction had 'destroyed his career, almost destroyed him and hurt his undeserving and loyal wife and family', insisting no police resources were misused. However, Judge Edmunds imposed the custodial sentence, reflecting the severity of the breaches of trust. Corbel, who had served 13 years in the force, was immediately suspended by the Metropolitan Police Service upon his crimes coming to light.
The case, reported by BBC News on 21 January 2022, underscores the vulnerabilities exposed when those in positions of power perpetrate sexual offences, with the prosecuting authority being the Metropolitan Police Service.