Mum learns paedophile neighbour took over 50 pictures and videos of her as she sunbathed

Steve Hopkins

The pictures were found when police arrested Craig Dunderdale for possessing child pornography

A mum was disgusted when she discovered her “loner” paedophile neighbour had secretly photographed her sunbathing in her garden.

Kim Leary was worried when she saw her neighbour Craig Dunderdale’s home being searched by police who bundled his computers into a van, but she had no idea he was also collecting images of her.

Officers discovered he had more than 1,500 extreme porn pics as well as dozens of indecent photographs of children. But when they were hunting through his files, they learned he had also secretly taken pictures and videos of 39-year-old Leary sunbathing in her own garden in her swimsuit.

He had over 50 pictures and videos of the mum-of-two taken while she was stuck at home during lockdown.

Dunderdale got a suspended sentence and has now moved away from Leary, who has been left traumatised by the discovery and is now moving house as she can no longer enjoy her garden.

the nurse from Chester said: “I always knew he was bit of a weirdo – he was a loner, he didn’t seem to have any friends or a partner.

“If anything I always felt sorry for him for it – never in a million years did I think he’d do anything like this.”

Leary said Dunderdale had videos “which zoomed in on my bum, boobs and feet – the way he did it was all so pervy”.

Leary was unhappy with Dunderdale’s sentence and feels like he “got away with it”.

“Even though he doesn’t live here any more, sitting in the garden still makes me paranoid. I can’t erase that memory as long as I’m still here.

“I just want people to know what he did. People in his new area might not know what he does.

“He destroyed my life and still has a huge effect on me now – and he could do it to someone else.”

Leary lived next door to Dunderdale for three years before she saw police raiding his home in April 2020.

She recalled speculating to husband Iain, also 39, that it could be something to do with indecent images of children, when they saw police taking his electronic devices.

She feared the safety of her son, then three – but little did she know she was a victim.

Dunderdale returned back home a few days later on bail – but in March 2021, Leary got a call saying her neighbour also had pictures of her.

“He had three videos and over 50 images of me. I was wearing different clothes in them so they were taken over different days. In a lot I was wearing a bathing costume while sunbathing.

“They zoomed in on my bum, boobs, legs and feet. Some were even of me on all fours when I was picking something up off the floor in my swimming costume.

“When I found out, it was unbelievable. I’d always been nice to him if I passed him.

“I’d had no idea the whole time.”

Leary had to remain living next door to Dunderdale for several months until it went to court in September 2021.

She had a four-year-old son at this point and was also four months pregnant with a baby girl.

Dunderdale admitted making indecent photographs of a child, possessing extreme pornographic images, possessing a prohibited image of a child, and finally, voyeurism.

Leary read an emotional victim impact statement to the court, during which she burst into tears.

She told him: “You deserve nothing but prison time in my opinion. I can honestly say I hate you.”

Looking back, she said: “He wouldn’t look at me. He was sat in the dock with his head down.

“I was shaking so much. I got upset when I was reading it – and my voice just went completely. “I thought I’d be ok, but I wasn’t.”

Dunderdale was sentenced to a ten-month prison term suspended for 18 months at Chester Magistrates Court.

He was also ordered to complete 30 days of rehabilitation activity and 150 hours unpaid work, told he must observe a 9pm-7am curfew at his parents’ address for four months, and be subject to a five-year Sexual Harm Prevention Order restricting his internet usage.

Dunnerdale was also placed on the sex offenders register for 10 years, and ordered to pay £4,000 compensation to leary.

But she told how no amount of compensation would make it easier to come to terms with what he did to her.

She said: “He’s moved away from Chester and it feels like he just got away with it.

“People probably don’t know who he is or what he’s done where he is now.

“He could meet someone and they could get married and she’d have no idea about it – he isn’t a safe person to be around.”

Leary is now in the process of moving house: “Even now he has gone, I still can’t sit comfortably in my own garden and I never will while I’m still here.

“Here is forever tainted for me because it’s always in my memory. “Living next to him destroyed my life and I need to get away from it.”