A MAN has been spared jail after planting a hidden camera to spy on a teenage girl.

The victim's family reacted furiously when Terry Newton, 45, of Rectory Farm Road, Sompting, was given a suspended sentence after a jury unanimously found him guilty of voyeurism.

Newton spied on the 16-year-old and rigged it up to a transmitter so he could view it live on a screen.

The victim and members of her family broke down in tears after Newton was given a 26-week suspended sentence.

There were heated exchanges between the family and friends of the victim and those of Newton in the packed public gallery at Hove Crown Court when he given the sentence after a four-day trial.

And emotions boiled over as the disagreement continued with a fracas in the street outside court afterwards.

Speaking to The Argus, one of the victim’s friends said he was disgusted with the sentence.

He said: “He should’ve served time for this.

“Look at the poor girl – she’s in bits.”

Unemployed Newton must now complete 120 hours of unpaid work and is subject to an 18-month supervision order as well as a restraining order.

Judge Nicholson-Pratt said although the device was in place for a short period of time, it was only because it was found that it was not there for longer.

A laptop belonging to Newton showed he had been accessing pornographic sites.

The judge dismissed Newton's claims that placing the camera was not sexually motivated.

Judge Nicholson-Pratt added: “It has had an affect on the people concerned.

“The victim also had to defer a year in college because of what you did.

“In my view, there was significant planning on your part.”