Construction boss Michael Riley, 38, avoided jail after being found guilty of voyeurism.
dA businessman who secretly filmed a woman as they recreated kinky scenes from Fifty Shades of Grey has been spared jail.
Michael Riley, 38, arranged to meet the 39-year-old for a night of passion at a property in Lanarkshire. They imitated bedroom antics from the best-selling book and blockbuster film that included her being tied to a bed.
But she was left horrified after he sent her footage of the encounter of August 2022. She confronted Riley over the video but he laughed and said: “That’s what people our age do.”
Police were called in and construction boss Riley, of Newmilns, Ayrshire, was arrested. Riley denied any wrongdoing and went on trial at Hamilton Sheriff Court where he claimed the woman had agreed to be filmed but was convicted of voyeurism.
Sheriff Linda Nicolson ordered him to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and placed him under supervision for two years. He was banned from contacting his victim for 10 years and put on the sex offenders’ register for two years.
Giving evidence via video link, the woman said she had agreed to be restrained but insisted she did not know Riley was going to record the liaison.
She said: “I was in the middle of being unrestrained and he told me to check my phone. I asked him what it was, although looking at it I knew what it was, and I said to him ‘why have you done that?’ and he said it was just something for me to keep.
“I asked him to completely delete and asked why he had done it and he just laughed. I was just angry with him and I don’t know why you would do that to someone without asking or discussing it.”
Asked if she had agreed to be filmed, the woman replied: “I’m under oath and I’m 100 percent sure that video was not taken with consent.”
In evidence, Riley claimed they had agreed to record their encounter and the woman helped set up cameras.
He added: “The idea behind the video is that it would all come together as one, we called it our Fifty Shades night. It was to be like a scene out of a porno that evening.
“Absolutely she consented, she recorded parts of it herself and at one point she was holding the camera during a sex act. We made a Fifty Shades night happen, it was recorded and it was consensual.”
Rosemary Robinson, defending, said: “He would be compliant with any order imposed by the court.”
Sheriff Nicolson told Riley: “The custody threshold has been passed and you could be subject to a custodial sentence for this but I’m satisfied that an alternative can be imposed.”
Fifty Shades of Grey is an erotic novel written by E.L. James which was turned into a movie starring Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login