British Airways pilot acquitted of voyeurism after sending a video of him spanking a blindfolded stewardess to a colleague, who replied ‘fan dabby dozey’
A British Airways pilot has been acquitted of voyeurism after he sent a video of himself spanking a blindfolded stewardess to a fellow BA pilot.
Tim Capron, 38, tHe took a photo and two videos of himself having sex with a blindfolded member of BA’s cabin crew, whom he met through a dating app. Kindling.
She then passed the explicit content on to another BA pilot, Steven Farnworth, with whom Capron enjoyed threesomes and whom she described as her ‘sexual partner’.
Mr Farnworth later replied to the messages ‘fan dabby sleepy’.
Prosecutors alleged Capron knew the complainant did not consent to being recorded.
They described the actions of Capron and Mr Farnworth as a ‘virtual threesome’ and claimed the 38-year-old tried to involve the complainant without her knowledge.
Today, the jury at Reading Crown Court deliberated for five hours to acquit Capron of the voyeurism charge.
It brings the case to an end relating to an incident in September 2021 when the complainant came to visit Capron at his home in Maidenhead, Berks.
Tim Capron, 38, took a photo and two videos of himself having sex with a blindfolded member of BA’s cabin crew he met via dating app Tinder. He then passed the explicit content on to another BA pilot, Steven Farnworth.
Capron joined the BA in 2009, graduating at the age of 22, after graduating from Christchurch University with a master’s degree in biology (Stock photo)
Capron, who remains a qualified pilot and said his last take-off and landing was in November last year, testified at his hearing on Tuesday that he believed the complainant would consent to being filmed.
He stated that they discussed ‘whips, restraints and domination’ in messages before meeting for sex.
Capron told jurors he believed the complainant would have enjoyed the “positive validation” of seeing the response from Mr Farnworth, who texted “Fan dabby doey” when he saw the photo of her during sex.
Capron said in his statement: ‘Based on what we talked about together, I thought this behavior would not be a problem, I thought he would be happy with this situation, I thought he would enjoy it. ‘I have to live with this mistake for the rest of my life and have been doing so for the last four and a half years.’
Jenni Dempster, defending, warned KC jurors that the crown court was ‘not a morality court’ and said it was only a matter of whether Capron actually knew the complainant did not consent.
‘There’s a world of difference between making a huge error of judgment and being a sex offender and crossing that line into crime,’ Ms Dempster said.
Capron’s arrest by police on September 28, 2021 sparked an investigation that revealed the presence of extreme pornography on his mobile phone. Capron was sentenced to six months’ probation by the judges because of the image.
He first appeared before Reading magistrates in August 2023, charged with voyeurism, and his first hearing took place at Reading crown court in July 2024.
Reading from the Crown Court hearing where Capron was acquitted of voyeurism by jurors today (file image)
Capron confirmed that he graduated from ChristChurch College, Oxford, with a master’s degree in biological sciences. He became a pilot at BA in 2016.
During his first hearing, he revealed that he had disclosed the proceedings against him to BA, which initially gave him a back office role and allowed him to continue training in a simulator, but was later suspended on full pay until 12 December 2023.
Ms Dempster said Capron ‘hid nothing’ from his employer and noted that the airline had learned Capron was facing voyeurism allegations and had been convicted of possessing extreme adult pornography.
“He was upfront and kept them informed at every stage when it became clear this was going to be a serious matter,” Ms Dempster said.
The attorney added that Capron “provided them with monthly updates.” ‘He told them everything, just like he told you.’
Jurors who were unable to reach a verdict after a six-day trial were dismissed on July 22, 2024.
Capron declared that he was no longer friends with Mr Farnworth by mutual consent as the case progressed against him.
‘Steve and I enjoy having sex together with another woman,’ she said.
‘I told Steve about it and explained what happened. He was training for the Marine Corps at the time and was away most of the time. I said this is getting serious now. “This is very strange.”
The Crown Prosecution Service decided to seek a retrial and the case faced further delays until it finally returned to court on Monday this week, 18 months later.
Capron’s attorney has been contacted for comment.
