Man took pictures up girls' skirts at festival

A man caught by police as he took pictures up girls' skirts at the Reading Festival has been given a suspended jail sentence.

Onteeru Reddy, 57, knelt near an ice cream van and was spotted tying his shoelace with his phone propped against his foot when officers spotted him in August 2024.

It was a "clear attempt" to take pictures on his phone of girls and women, Reading Magistrates' Court heard at a hearing in April.

Reddy, from Reading, was given a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 24 months, at the court on Monday. He will be the subject of a sexual harm prevention order (SHPO) until the end of May 2036.

He admitted one count of operating equipment beneath clothing of another without consent and another of attempting to operate equipment beneath clothing of another without consent in April.

The court was told that about 60 exhibits were found on Reddy's phone, which included pictures of schoolgirls, with some of them wearing uniform.

Reddy must inform police if he owns any device capable of taking images while he is the subject of the SHPO, magistrates said.