Sisters who were secretly filmed in the shower and on the toilet by their depraved stepfather have bravely spoken out after he was jailed.
Megan and Shannon Ervin waived their right to lifetime anonymity to speak to KentOnline in a bid to reassure other victims of sexual offences that they do not have to suffer in silence.
The two women were horrified to discover the man they had regarded as a father – Craig West – was, in fact, a sexual predator who had covertly recorded them.
Maidstone Crown Court heard Megan was filmed with the use of a spy-pen West had hidden in a toothbrush holder at the home he shared with the siblings’ mum in Sheerness.
During a visit to the address, she had been actively encouraged by the 63-year-old pervert to take a shower and, on doing so at the second time of asking, she spotted a flashing light.
Suspicious, she then noticed on closer examination that the pen had a camera lens and, on taking it apart, found a memory card inside.
Despite her shock and fear, a quick-thinking Megan took photos of the covert recording equipment and alerted her family to what she had discovered.
But their horror was compounded when West, having been confronted, alluded to selling the pictures.
Then, following his arrest, police found a recording on his laptop showing Shannon using the toilet, and which had been filmed about two years earlier in his caravan.
The former lorry driver later admitted two offences of voyeurism and two of observing a person doing a private act for sexual gratification.
But the court heard that in preparation for his sentencing hearing on August 7, he told a report writer that the offences had not been sexually motivated but committed out of “hate and spite”.
West, of St George’s Avenue, Eastchurch, also claimed he had accidentally recorded Shannon, 29, after setting up the camera in his caravan in a bid to catch his wife’s lover.
He even urged his family not to involve police, saying he did not “deserve to go to prison”.
His barrister also argued a suspended sentence could be imposed due to his guilty pleas, lack of previous relevant convictions, the realistic prospect of rehabilitation and the five-year delay in the case reaching conclusion.
But, much to Megan and Shannon’s relief, the judge disagreed and said that only immediate imprisonment was appropriate.
Both were in court – as was their mum in support of her husband – and broke down crying as they saw justice finally being dealt.
Prosecutor Stacey-Lee Holland told the hearing Megan, 32, had gone to see her mum on March 13, 2020, following a breakdown in her relationship, but on arriving only her stepfather was there.
“He encouraged her to have a shower, saying it would make her feel better,” the lawyer said.
“Instead, she went to sleep. But when she woke up, he again encouraged her to have a shower.”
He encouraged her to have a shower, saying it would make her feel better
It was said that before she did so, West went into the bathroom on the pretence of cleaning his teeth and hid the spy-pen.
Ms Holland continued: “While showering, Megan saw a flashing light in the toothbrush holder and later discovered there was a pen.
“She noticed it had a camera lens and when she took it apart found it had a memory card inside it. She took photos of that pen.
“After she had finished, the defendant went into the bathroom to clean the shower and, on going back in, Megan noticed he had removed the pen from the toothbrush holder.”
Having told her family, West was challenged, only to initially deny all knowledge of his covert device.
But then, having owned up to having it, he appeared to snap it and throw it away.
The court heard, however, that this was “for show” as he later retrieved it from the garden.
Speaking of his arrest and his laptop seized, Ms Holland said: “On the laptop they (police) found a covert recording of Shannon Ervin while on the toilet and filmed in the bathroom of the defendant’s caravan.”
It was also explained that when West had been confronted, he said: “I can’t tell you the full truth of it. It’s much worse.”
When this prompted the question of whether he was going to sell the recordings, he replied “Yes”, before asking, however, that he was not reported to police.
“The defendant said he would make it right and that he didn’t deserve to go to prison for what he had done,” added Ms Holland.
Several victim impact statements (VIS) made by the sisters detailed not just how they were left feeling violated, but also the wider consequences to their family, including the breakdown in their relationship with their mum, who chose to stick by her partner.
To say that I was drastically affected by what he has done to me would be an understatement
Megan told the court she already lacked body confidence prior to being spied upon and, when she discovered she had been filmed, was left feeling “dirty”.
Referring to West as a “sexual predator”, she added: “To say that I was drastically affected by what he has done to me would be an understatement.
“It’s perverted behaviour being spied upon in a most vulnerable and most exposed moment as showering.”
Megan also described the “devastating impact” in respect of the mother-daughter division that arose, and revealed the incident itself left her so distraught that she suffered a “full mental breakdown” and had to be sectioned.
Referring to her statements, the prosecutor told the court: “She said she felt lost with absolutely everything and everyone at that time.
“She said she was feeling weak, vulnerable and not comfortable on her own, and couldn’t see any positives.
“With the trauma this caused, she quickly became overwhelmed and had suicidal thoughts.”
The court also heard that Megan’s distress and anxiety was exacerbated by seeing West while she was out shopping, and she eventually chose to uproot her young family and move away from Sheppey.
In her VIS, Shannon described her stepfather as being “deceitful” from the moment he came into her life as a 10-year-old.
She said she felt “a wave of emotion” when she discovered her sister had been secretly filmed and then an “awful dropping feeling” in her stomach when the recording of her was found.
Shannon said she was left “extremely distressed” and had to be prescribed antidepressants.
She also became paranoid about using toilets and would look around for hidden devices or spy holes.
Such is her fear that she struggled to sleep and has even installed cameras in her own home in an attempt to feel safer.
“The incidents continue to have a devastating effect on her emotional, mental and physical state,” added Ms Holland.
A letter from West, who now works as a vending machine delivery driver, as well as one from his wife, were provided to the court but not read out.
His lawyer, James Harrison, explained how the defendant was “willing to engage with probation and understand the root cause” of his criminal behaviour.
Mr Harrison also highlighted the age of the case, explaining that it took three-and-a-half years for West to be even charged and that, having pleaded guilty in November 2023, he then had to wait a further 20 months to learn his fate.
The court heard there had been no re-offending since 2020, and that sending him to jail would have a “profound” impact on his wife in that she would have to sell their home and give up their many pets.
Describing the conduct as out-of-character and urging he be spared jail, Mr Harrison added: “These are offences he has accepted and wants to explore with probation, all of which points to a realistic prospect of rehabilitation.
“He has been a hard-working man throughout his life, which is apparent from the character references, and in other areas of his life he has been very much a positive influence.”
However, Recorder Vivian Walters said it was not possible to suspend any jail term as she could find only “a suggestion” rather than “concrete evidence” of there being a prospect of rehabilitation.
She told West that whether it was “true or not”, his recording of Megan was going to be sold, it was “something that played on her mind”, and that the impact of his offending had not lessened over time.
“It is no overstatement to say that the effect of this (the recording) has devastated her life,” said the judge.
“She talks of feeling how her privacy was violated and of the devastating impact on her family and her relationship with her mother who took your side and from whom she is now estranged.”
Referring to Shannon, Recorder Walters continued: “She describes it as being made so much worse by the fact it has been done by someone who was in a position of caring for her for so many years.
“It demonstrates the effect the betrayal of that trust has, not just on a stepdaughter but, in your case, where the victim is now an adult reflecting back.
“There was planning, images were recorded and there was abuse of trust….These offences occurred in a private residence where both victims should have felt safe.”
On the subject of any remorse being shown by West, the judge said: “You denied your offending to the probation officer, and said you had the spy-pen in the caravan to record your wife’s lover – because you believed she was having an affair with someone at work – and recorded Shannon by mistake.
“You later admitted you had placed the pen in the bathroom when Megan had a shower but that you didn’t do it out of sexual motivation but out of hate and spite.
“I have read your letter and in that letter there is no mention of the victims.”
Handing him a six-month jail term, Recorder Walters concluded: “I have considered whether suspension is possible and it’s urged upon me there is a realistic prospect of rehabilitation, and that despite your failure to acknowledge your responsibility there is still a prospect.
“I’m afraid I can find no concrete evidence that there is such a prospect other than simply a suggestion.
“It is also urged on me that immediate custody will result in significant harmful impact on others.
“I accept it will have an impact on your wife and financial implications on her and your animals. But in my view, appropriate punishment can only be achieved by immediate custody.”
West was also made subject to an indefinite restraining order in regards to contacting Megan and Shannon, and told he must sign on the sex offender register for seven years.
He encouraged her to have a shower, saying it would make her feel better
Speaking to KentOnline at the conclusion of the case, Megan and Shannon said they hoped sharing their story would encourage other victims of sexual offences to come forward.
“We want them to know it doesn’t matter who the perpetrators are to you or who stands by them,” they said in a statement.
“There is help and there are people who will listen and believe the truth. You absolutely can get some kind of justice even if that’s just in a form of belief, sometimes being believed is what means the most.”
“We hope that by speaking out, it shows these predators that it is not OK, it won’t be tolerated and you will be caught,” they added.
“We have lost a relationship with our mother over this, and that’s been hard but with that loss we have gained so much support and love within others.
“We no longer have to make our mother happy or keep a relationship with her.
“Despite the great impact this has had on our mental health, we are now finally free from this man and can rebuild our lives.”
