06 January 2024 , 13:09
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A man has described how his life completely fell apart after a trip to a swimming pool with his son.
Michael took his son to play on the slides at the Cardiff International Swimming Pool and was just leaving after a swim and a sandwich in the café when two police officers approached him holding handcuffs.
Describing the events of that day on which his life “changed forever,” Michael explained how he ended up separated from his family for months, without a job and suicidal for the first time in his life, Wales Online reports.
“I wanted to end my life because it was all too much. I could not cope. Being unable to provide for my family and us having hardly any food on top of being accused of such a horrendous thing was too much for me,” he said.
Unknown to Michael (not his real name) as he sat eating in the cafe with his son after their swim that day, he says he was being watched through CCTV by members of pool staff and a teenager who had made a serious allegation.
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A teenager aged under 18 had complained to pool workers that a male had taken pictures of them from underneath their cubicle. Michael said he believers staff allowed them to view the CCTV feed to try and identify the culprit, and because he was one of the only men in the café at that point the teenager wrongly identified him as the man who took the pictures.
He was just leaving the pool with his son when the police approached him (Getty Images/iStockphoto)He said: “I was unaware of this at the time but at that point - when the [teenager] said a camera came underneath [their] cubicle - I feel it should have been a police matter straight away. The police should have come in and spoken to [them]."
Instead, he said he believed the leisure centre allowed the teenager to view CCTV footage of the cafe while he was sitting there "as an innocent man having a sandwich with my son". Following that, he said he believed they took [the teenager] out into the foyer and asked: ‘Is this him?’. "[They] had just seen me on CCTV and said ‘yes’."
“I later found out from my solicitor that [the teenager] was on the opposite side of the pool to me. If I did this, I would have had to leave my son alone, run all the way around and try to guess where she was to be able to take a picture. It was just impossible.”
As Michael was leaving the pool, he said he was shocked when he was suddenly approached by two police officers and put in handcuffs. “When I was in handcuffs, I was pleading with them to look at my phone,” he claimed. “But the police wouldn’t open or look at my phone. They wouldn't let me prove my innocence while they arrested me in front of my child.”
The description of the man did not match Michael (Getty Images)Michael said he was then taken to Cardiff Bay Police station, where he spent 25 hours in custody. He said he was told by officers that the teenager was not interviewed by the police until 10pm that night. A document seen by WalesOnline shows how the teenager gave police a description, which did not match Michael. The description given states that the individual wore a top with animal print, denim shorts and was aged in his mid-40s.
Footage taken that day and seen by WalesOnline confirms Michael was wearing a white Levi Strauss T-shirt with no animal print and full-length black jogging bottoms. Michael also has tattoos on his neck, and on his leg - which would have been visible if he'd been wearing shorts.
Despite this, an investigation was underway and Michael was made subject to strict bail conditions, which included having to move out of his family home. He was also banned from public changing rooms and toilets. Michael lost his taxi licence, meaning his family had no source of income. Perhaps most upsettingly, social services spoke to his two children to determine if they should be removed from the family home, he said.
“The social workers came to determine if they needed to take our children from us. They interviewed my children separately asking them if I had ever made them watch pornography or touched them inappropriately,” Michael explained.
The stress and humiliation was unbearable, Michael said. He contacted the mental health team. "They were so worried about me that they wanted me to get help from the crisis team. The paranoia I suffered during that time wondering if the police would plant something on my phone or devices because they knew they had made a massive blunder was horrific,” he said.
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Michael was also plagued by dark thoughts at that time, saying: “My only passion is fishing and I couldn't go because I was scared of what I might do to myself if I did.”
Eventually, by late November, Michael was told the investigation outcome was one of 'No Further Action'. After inspecting 24 devices seized from Michael’s home, including the phone he had on him the day he visited the pool, he said officers found no evidence. Although it saw him regain his taxi licence and move back home with his supportive family, Michael said his life since had been far from normal.
“Since this happened, my life has been awful,” he said. Micheal described the “public humiliation and discrimination” of police raking through his life and invading his family’s personal space for months on end. “I am not the same person,” he said.
A spokeswoman for South Wales Police said: “A man from [Cardiff] was arrested on suspicion of voyeurism following a complaint about photographs being taken in the changing rooms of Cardiff Bay International Pool. Following an investigation, which included an examination of his phone, no further action is being taken against the man arrested.
“A formal complaint has been received regarding his arrest. While this complaint is being investigated it would be inappropriate to comment further.” It's understood no-one else has since been arrested or charged in connection with the teenager's allegation.
A spokesman for Legacy Leisure, which operates Cardiff International Pool, said: "[on the date in question] We were approached by a customer regarding serious allegations about activity by another member of the public in one of our changing rooms. Given the gravity of the allegations we were required to take all necessary steps in supporting the victim and the police in understanding what happened and assisting in the identification of the perpetrator of the offence where possible.
"The safety of the public is of utmost importance to us, and we consider that we have taken all reasonable and proportionate steps to support the victim of this crime in the circumstances.”
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