A peeping Tom who spied on a woman through her bedroom window — then broke into her house to take another peak — was jailed for 12 months yesterday in Magistrates' Court.

Raymond Levon, 35, admitted to prowling, invading a woman's privacy and trespassing on July 24. Crown counsel Nicole Smith said the offence left the victim "tormented" and caused her "significant emotional harm".

Ms Smith said: "The defendant's behaviour is indicative of the most severe and extreme invasion of privacy. Your worship everyone, particularly women, should feel safe in their own home."

Levon, from St. John's Road, Pembroke, began spying on the woman while she was lying naked watching television in her bedroom around 10.30 p.m.

The victim heard a sound outside her home and got dressed so she could search the property — but found nothing. The next day she found a bucket on the ground outside her room and noticed she could stand on the bucket to see inside the window.

Later that afternoon she found a note attached to her door in a plastic twist. The note read: "Hi, my name's Raymond. I like what I see. I'm new to the hood, single, and looking for friendship." It also included Levon's phone number.

The next morning, the victim — who cannot be identified for legal reasons — found a concrete block had been placed below her bedroom window, a ladder outside the home had been moved and the screen on a second-floor window had been removed.

She contacted the Police and officers called Levon's number and asked him to come to Hamilton Police Station for questioning.

Duty counsel Kenneth Savoury, who represented Levon yesterday in court, said the married father-of-two had recognised his wrong behaviour. He said Levon had no intention of hurting the defendant and only wanted to be "friends".

He also said the defendant had been molested when he was younger and never sought proper treatment for the problem. "Clearly the defendant is asking for his treatment, begging for this treatment," Mr. Savoury added.

Levon apologised for his actions and said: "I would like to say that I am sorry your honour. I know what I done was wrong. I hurt my family, I hurt my wife, I did do what I done.

"I do feel remorse and I realise I need help in my marriage for what I done. I can promise, and please I am in the church too, I can tell you this will never happen again in my life."

Magistrate Juan Wolffe said intruding upon a woman's privacy was of "grave concern". "We in our society should be able to feel safe especially in the privacy of our home. And when this privacy is pierced the effects can be long lasting and this is obviously the case with the complainant."

He sentenced Levon to six months imprisonment for prowling and to 12 months each for invading on the woman's privacy and trespassing. These will be served concurrently, i.e. at the same time, and time already spent in prison will be taken into consideration.