A leading figure in equestrian sport has been convicted of using a hidden camera to spy on a woman in a bathroom.
David Crockford, 61, the partner of former Team GB dressage rider Sarah Millis, 43, installed a camera in an empty air freshener left in a bathroom at Millstones, the horse training complex run by the couple in Horsham, West Sussex.
Crockford appeared before Crawley magistrates after pleading guilty to a single count of voyeurism, a breach of the Sexual Offences Act. He was given a ten-week jail sentence, suspended for 18 months.
Court documents detail how he ‘installed equipment with the intention of enabling yourself, for the purpose of obtaining sexual gratification, to observe another person doing a private act, knowing that person did not consent to being observed for your sexual gratification’.
The anonymity of his victim is protected under the Sexual Offences Act.
A source said: ‘Crockford had placed a camera inside an empty air freshener box and positioned it strategically in a bathroom. It captured a young woman using the facilities, but it was easily spotted and the police were called in.
‘Crockford is a man of some standing within the dressage community and this will destroy his reputation.’
Crockford was told that his offence in March last year was so serious that only a custodial sentence was justified. He was informed he would be placed on the Sex Offenders Register for five years and was ordered to pay £1,250 compensation.
David Crockford installed a camera in an empty air freshener left in a bathroom at Millstones, the horse training complex run by the couple in Horsham, West Sussex
David Crockford, 61, is the partner of former Team GB dressage rider Sarah Millis, 43 (pictured)
Former equestrianism Dressage team member Sarah Millis of the British Olympic Team poses for a photograph during the Team GB Kitting Out at the NEC on July 4, 2008 in Birmingham
He must also make any devices capable of recording or storing images available to police if requested.
Crockford was one of the main organisers of the International and All England Dressage events, traditionally held at Hickstead, West Sussex.
One of his dressage horses, El Zorro, has performed highly in competition events in recent years.
Ms Millis is one of the most experienced international dressage riders in the UK.
She represented Great Britain at a record ten European Championships at under-21 level after starting her international career at the age of 11. She also made two appearances on the Nations Cup Team in Europe for Great Britain.
Ms Millis enjoyed considerable success with Furst Rubin, a chestnut gelding who had many national and international successes in the mid-Noughties.
Last month, it was announced that the All England Dressage Festival would not take place next year. In a statement, director Lizzie Bunn said: ‘The timing of the event in May made things challenging due to the weather, but the main reason is that we cannot make it economically viable.
‘The costs – particularly of judges and officials – at over £50,000 are exorbitant and, despite our best efforts, the event still ran at a loss.’