A "manipulative" hypnotist has been jailed after he was exposed for using “insidious tactics” to hack into women's social media accounts to get his hands on intimate photos.
Robert Temple, 36, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, infiltrated the Snapchat accounts of two people and downloaded private images, including topless and nude photos. The comedy enthusiast, who previously warned that "hypnosis is only dangerous if it’s used in the wrong way", proceeded to sell the pictures online.
The stage performer was put behind bars for eight months earlier this week after he confessed to a series of fraud charges, computer misuse offences and concealing or transferring criminal property. The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said police were first alerted to his crooked ways after they received a report from Action Fraud in May 2021.
The report included details about an online forum in which users could make requests anonymously for explicit photographs of named women. Investigators later managed to track the unauthorised account access to the Temples' home address. The hypnotist also carried out identity fraud to cover up his criminal activities by setting up cryptocurrency accounts in a woman’s name, without her permission.
Temple is a stage performer who focuses on comedy (@theroberttemple / Twitter)
Temple has previously challenged a council over not supporting hypnosis (@theroberttemple / Twitter)According to the CPS, he used the accounts to conceal the funds raised from selling the hacked content. In interview, the defendant admitted that he used these accounts to layer funds obtained from selling items obtained illegally. Ellie Norman, 29, from Lincolnshire, was named as one of his victims. She said Snapchat, Tinder and Instagram accounts were set up in her name. She told MailOnline: "Friends told me about the fake profiles, they were really creepy. I never even met Temple, I’ve never even been to one of his shows, but what he’s done to me is appalling. It’s scary to think what else he’s done with my identity and my photos, all without my knowledge."
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Annette Thomas, senior crown prosecutor with CPS East Midlands, said: “The actions of Robert Temple were utterly reprehensible. Using insidious tactics, he exploited these unsuspecting women by hacking into their social media accounts and sharing intimate images of them online, without their knowledge, all for financial greed. Let this conviction be clear to those who hide behind a screen to commit their crimes, you cannot hide from the law and the Crown Prosecution Service will continue to work to achieve justice for victims of cybercrime.”
Temple was on tour this month and must have expected to avoid jail as performances of his Red Raw – named after his dyed hair – were scheduled for this week. Last month he was in the news when he successfully challenged Bolton Council over a public safety ban on “hypnotism, mesmerism and any similar act which produces induced sleep or trance” which had been in place since 1982.
After his win, the told The Guardian newspaper: “Hypnosis is only dangerous if it’s the wrong people and it’s used in the wrong way. I’m all for regulations, and to make sure people are insured and are high-risk assessed, have got some sort of training and do know what they’re doing.”
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