A judge has blasted a woman caught filming a sexual assault trial in Southampton and said he hoped she found it "frightening" ending up in court herself.
Kulwinder Bassi used a mobile phone to record a few seconds of footage of Anthony Agius while he was on trial at Southampton Crown Court last month.
But she was spotted by security who alerted court staff and presiding judge Nicholas Rowland.
Jurors later convicted holistic therapist Agius, 53, of four charges of sexually assaulting a teenage girl.
Security staff had seen Bassi filming through a glass pane in the door of the courtroom on September 24.
She admitted contempt of court and returned to be sentenced on Friday.
Sentencing, Judge William Mousley KC said he struggled to understand her motivation after she claimed she was previously in a "mentally abusive" relationship with Agius.
Judge Mousley said: “I am not persuaded by her reasoning, but my view would be to deal with this by way of a financial penalty.
“I hope this has been a particularly frightening experience for you, Kulwinder Bassi.
“The recording of court proceedings is a very serious matter because it can fall into all sorts of people’s hands and it potentially puts people involved, jurors, and court staff at risk.
“It is a really serious thing to do.”
Mitigating, Khalid Missouri said she has a “trauma bond” with Agius following their relationship.
He said she did not see the signs in the court building which said filming and photography is not permitted inside the building.
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Mr Missouri said: “Ms Bassi deleted the video, cooperated, and apologised to His Honour Judge Rowland.
“She was going to keep the video of the defendant for herself. She does not use social media and was not going to share it with anyone.
“She has spent the last week in mental agony at the thought of going to prison and she is very, very frightened.
“She did not want or intend to interfere in this trial in any way.”
He added: “The video taken was only a matter of seconds, and I am not sure it was even a clear video.”
Bassi, of Northumberland Road, Southampton, was ordered to pay a £750 fine by November 28.
Agius, of Allington Lane, Fair Oak, will be sentenced in November. He denied all charges.
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