THE NURSE OBSESSED WITH WOMEN’S KNICKERS

A psychiatric nurse obsessed with knickers and women’s bottoms secretly filmed up schoolgirls’ skirts.

Robert Humm, 47, also stole women’s knickers to fulfil his fetish and liked to dress as a woman, the Nursing and Midwifery Council heard.

He was finally arrested on September 27, 2007 when a woman saw what he was doing and reported him to police.

Humm, who was working at the North Devon District Hospital in Raleigh Park, Barnstaple, Devon at the time, admitted taking ‘cheeky pictures’ as he walked around a city centre shopping area.

He was found with a pair of pink silk knickers in his pocket and a bag full of underwear he had stolen from three different shops, it was said.

When police seized his computer from his former home in Tanners Road, Landkey, Devon, they found further homemade footage of someone following and filming females in skirts and indecent images of children, the NMC were told.

Humm was convicted of theft at Bedford Magistrates Court on December 18, 2007. He was later cautioned at Barnstaple Police Station for making indecent images of children.

He was dismissed from his job following a disciplinary hearing in March last year.

Salim Hafejee, for the NMC, said: ‘The footage recovered from Humm’s computer showed someone following and filming females wearing skirts.

‘One file on his computer called “shopping” contains numerous images taken covertly around Exeter City Centre of females.

‘The majority of images are of the lower half of female bodies, in particular their legs and bottoms. One clip showed the leg area of several young females dressed in school uniforms.

‘They are all taken from the rear and the females appear to be unaware the footage is being taken.

‘On 27 September, 2007, in St Albans, Hertforshsire, Humm was seen separately by two female complainants photographing their legs and bottoms as they walked along the street.

‘Police were called and Humm was arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance, stating “I did it, I took some cheeky pictures”.

‘Police found a pair of pink silk knickers in his pocket and further knickers, which had been stolen from three different shops, in a shopping bag.

‘He told officers he was going to wear the knickers as he liked to pretend to be a woman.

‘He said his actions were perverse and immature and he did it because he had a fetish with the lower half of the female body.’

The panel were told 12 indecent images of children were also recovered from Humm’s computer. Some were graded at level four, which includes children engaging in sexual activity with adults.

In one image, the face of a 12-year-old girl had been superimposed on an adult woman wearing a bra and stockings.

Mr Hafejee continued: ‘These are very serious offences. Although there were not an extensive number of images, some of the images found on his computer involved children and were as high as a level four.

‘Humm was a psychiatric nurse who worked with vulnerable adults. The potential to put patients at risk was significant. There is the further issue of damaging the reputation of the profession.

‘In my submission misconduct should be found by way of this conviction and this caution.’

Humm, of Barnstaple, Devon, did not attend the central London hearing to defend himself.

The panel found him guilty of being convicted of shoplifting and behaving disorderly.

He was further found guilty of receiving a police caution for making indecent photographs of children.

Humm, of Barnstaple, Devon, was convicted of disorderly behaviour and stealing women’s underwear in December 2007 and sentenced to a three year community order.

Humm later received a police caution after cops found indecent images of children on his computer.

In one image the face of a 12-year-old girl had been superimposed on an adult woman wearing a bra and stockings.

The nurse, who did not attend the central London hearing, was dismissed from his job at the North Devon District Hospital in Raleigh Park, Barnstaple following the incidents.

NMC chair Jillian Alderwick found Humm guilty of misconduct and struck him off the nursing register.

She said: ‘The panel is satisfied that this case is much too serious for it us to take no action.

‘Although there is no evidence that the registrant’s actions caused direct patient harm, they clearly had the potential to do so, particularly in the field of nursing in which he practised.

‘He gave no indication of any insight into the implications of his conduct. Indeed, he tried to minimise the seriousness of what he had done.

‘We are satisfied that the registrant represents a continuing risk to patients

‘His overall conduct is fundamentally incompatible with his continued registration as a nurse and that the only appropriate sanction in this case is to impose a striking off order.’