'Voyeurism?': Father-of-Two Stunned at Arrest, Admits to 26 Charges After Police Uncover 162 Covert Videos Since 2020

A 36-year-old father of two from north London who appeared stunned at his arrest has pleaded guilty to widespread voyeurism after detectives uncovered 162 covert videos of women on his mobile phone. Anthony Durkan admitted the offences, which date back to January 2020, during a hearing at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on Tuesday.

The Islington resident was caught in late March, loitering outside residential properties dressed entirely in black. Body-worn camera footage captured his response of 'voyeurism?' upon his arrest, before investigators uncovered the true scale of his six-year campaign.

Uncovering a Hidden Archive of Voyeurism

Plain-clothes officers intercepted Durkan on 25 March while he was outside a local address. Security footage released by the Metropolitan Police shows the man walking on his tiptoes towards homes with his face concealed by a mask. He is seen cautiously pushing a phone through narrow window railings to capture illicit footage of women inside.

During his subsequent police interview, detectives methodically dismantled his initial facade of disbelief. They confronted him with a hidden folder unearthed on his seized mobile device, revealing a vast and disturbing digital archive.

An interrogating officer explicitly informed him that the hidden folder held 162 separate videos alongside 99 photographs. The officer stated that, aside from a handful of blurry landscape shots, every single piece of media featured a female victim entirely unaware she was being recorded in her own home.

The sheer volume of digital evidence prompted detectives to revisit unsolved historical cases across the borough. This meticulous review directly linked the 36-year-old to a string of dormant reports where viable lines of enquiry had previously been exhausted and no suspect had ever been identified.

These latest courtroom admissions follow seven prior guilty pleas for similar offences registered on 26 March at the exact same court. His recent guilty pleas now bring his total number of admitted crimes to 26 separate charges.

Police Urge Additional Voyeurism Victims to Come Forward

Detective Chief Inspector Gemma Alger, whose team spearheaded the Metropolitan Police investigation, described the offending as a severe and sustained pattern of predatory behaviour. She praised the immense courage of the women who initially came forward to report his crimes.

Their prompt reports, supported by alert witnesses, allowed proactive patrols to act decisively. Alger added that the conviction removes a dangerous individual from the streets, 'preventing further harm to women.'

The Metropolitan Police are urgently appealing to residents across Islington and the wider north London area to review their home security networks.

A force spokesperson asked members of the public who might have noticed unusual late-night activity around their homes between January 2020 and March 2026 to contact detectives immediately.

Investigators are specifically looking for footage captured on doorbell cameras or private CCTV systems showing individuals lingering near residential properties. They are keen to trace any recordings of someone looking through windows or holding a camera up to the glass in the early hours of the morning.

Information can be directed to the operations team via email at OpParinga@met.police.uk or reported anonymously through Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Durkan has been released on conditional bail and will face sentencing at Snaresbrook Crown Court on a date yet to be determined.