ROB Holden was seemingly an upstanding member of the community, but the local councillor was concealing a disturbing secret.
In the privacy of his own home he was a sex offender and peeping Tom — Holden clandestinely filmed dozens of women for his own perverse pleasure.
Rob Holden used hidden cameras to film 28 different women who stayed at his properties[/caption]
He was brought to justice after Heidi Marney discovered a concealed camera in the bathroom of her rented property[/caption]
Who is Robert Holden?
Robert Holden is a former Tory councillor in Calderdale, West Yorkshire.
He was also the owner of the local computer shop and a landlord — he offered cheap rooms to vulnerable women who thought they could trust him.
But he abused their trust, using hidden cameras to secretly record the women at his rural farmhouse in Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire.
Holden’s crimes spanned from 2006 to 2020, during which time he installed hidden cameras in private areas of his rental properties, such as bathrooms and bedrooms.
His actions resulted in the exploitation of 28 women.
The footage captured deeply intimate moments, including tenants showering, changing clothes, or engaging in private activities, such as being intimate with a partner.
Discovery of hidden cameras
The case unraveled when one of Holden’s tenants, 27-year-old Heidi Marney, discovered a concealed camera in the bathroom of her rented property.
The tenant immediately reported the incident to the police, prompting an investigation into Holden’s activities.
A subsequent search of his properties revealed additional hidden cameras linked to recording devices.
Holden had been systematically violating his tenants’ privacy for years, using advanced equipment to capture footage without their knowledge.
Heidi, who bravely waived her right to anonymity for Channel 5 documentary Peeping Tom: The Landlord and His Secret Cameras, said: “I just want to make sure women follow their gut feeling and don’t ignore it.
“Even if you care for that person. Trust yourself, trust your intuition.”
Computer exploitation
In addition to secretly filming his tenants, Holden abused his position as the owner of a computer repair business.
He conned his shop’s customers by accessing private images and sensitive data from devices entrusted to him for repair.
People were saying to me ‘Heidi we can’t believe what you have done to Rob’. I was so stunned about how it was turned around on to me. I couldn’t believe nobody believed me
Heidi Marney
Further demonstrating the pattern of exploitation, this misuse of trust added another layer of criminality to his depraved behaviour.
Attempts to evade justice
After being charged with multiple counts of voyeurism and computer misuse, Holden failed to appear in court in 2022 and fled the UK to Cape Verde.
He remained on the run for 17 months before being extradited back to the UK in September 2023.
Heidi said: “When he fled the country to Cape Verde, he just wasn’t taking any responsibility whatsoever.
“I just thought how dare you? When it all happened I was heartbroken.
“I thought I’d ruined his life, ruined his reputation, how is he ever going to come back from this?
Holden accessed private images and sensitive data from devices entrusted to him for repair in his computer shop[/caption]
“I had so much guilt for how I’d impacted him, and then I slowly realised wow he doesn’t care about me at all, he wasn’t remorseful.
“People were saying to me ‘Heidi we can’t believe what you have done to Rob’.
“I was so stunned about how it was turned around on to me. I couldn’t believe nobody believed me.
“So when he fled the country I was determined to make his face known, I was going to do a Tindler Swindler on him and make his face known to the world.
“I believed that this sick individual would do this to other people.”
Sentencing
In January 2024, Holden eventually pleaded guilty to 31 charges of voyeurism and seven of computer misuse.
Holden eventually pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six years and two months in prison[/caption]
He was sentenced to six years and two months in prison.
Judge Sophie McKone described his actions as “depraved and selfish,” highlighting the severe emotional harm inflicted on his victims.
She added: “You hid behind a veil of respectability, having your own business and being a local government councillor.
“This was well-organised deception at its worst and you deceived people over many years.
“You breached their trust in the most gross way.
“They were entitled to think that these acts were private. You did this to get, in your own words, a cheap thrill.”
As part of his sentencing, Holden was required to register as a sex offender for life and was issued a Sexual Harm Prevention Order prohibiting him from contact with his victims.
You can catch Peeping Tom: The Landlord and His Secret Cameras on Channel 5 at 10 pm on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
Voyeurism in the UK
SPYING on someone for kicks in the UK isn’t just sleazy – it’s illegal.
Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, voyeurism is a criminal offence that covers secretly watching or recording someone doing a private act without their consent, all for sexual thrills.
And it’s not just about old-school peeping through keyholes – the law was beefed up in 2019 with the Voyeurism (Offences) Act, after a wave of “upskirting” cases.
To land a conviction, prosecutors must prove the creep acted for sexual gratification or to humiliate the victim.
Offenders often end up on the Sex Offenders Register too.
There’s growing pressure for even tougher laws.
In January 2025, Labour vowed to make the act of taking any intimate image without consent a specific criminal offence, plugging loopholes in existing rules.