Kevin Scarnell appearing in a council campaign against upskirting

THE Town Hall has deleted a community safety film about reporting “upskirting” – after the man used to encourage people to report offences was himself jailed for a sex crime.

Kevin William Scarnell was sentenced to two years and eight months after pleading guilty to “arranging sexual activity with a child”.

He had driven from his home on the Chalcots estate in Swiss Cottage to a playground in Kent to meet a young teenager he had been “bombarding” with messages over a dating app.

Since the court hearing at Maidstone Crown Court earlier this month, it has emerged he had applied to take part in the council’s Call It Out campaign and appeared among a series of films aimed at awareness of crimes against women and girls.

The videos published last November were aimed at “encouraging people to safely intervene when they witness sexual harassment or any type of inappropriate behaviour”.

Mr Scarnell was arrested when he was seen circling the playground in a car.

Kent Police said a search of his phone found that he had “bombarded” the boy daily in March and April with sexually explicit messages, including details of his sexual preferences, along with obscene images and videos.

He later arranged to meet up in Maidstone, having messaged the boy that he was “excited” and had his haircut to “look sharp”.

The conviction has unsettled a close-knit neighbourhood and on the Chalcots estate where he was known primarily by his middle name, Will, and thought of as a committed community representative who had sat on climate “citizen’s panels” and tenant committees.

In April he had been appointed as a director and trustee of the Swiss Cottage Community Association that runs the Swiss Cottage Community Centre.

SCCA director Everton Counsell MBE said this week that Mr Scarnell had mysterious­ly disappeared shortly after being appointed.

He said: “We have not seen this individual since he was interviewed for the trustee role in April 2025.

“He has had no prior or subsequent interaction with SCCA business. We have already removed his name from our records at Companies House.”

Mr Counsell said the association had not been contacted by any authority about the conviction of one of its directors.

In 2021, Mr Scarnell had been one of the chosen few to take part in the Camden Climate Citizen Panel which made recommendations to the council.

Then in November last year – just five months before his arrest messages – he was one of the faces on the Call It Out campaign.

Police circulated a custody photo of Mr Scarnell

Mr Scarnell appeared in a short film for the council’s YouTube account airing his thoughts on the issue of “up-skirting”.

He had said: “It is not something that I’ve personally experienced but it is clear to me that it’s increasingly common behaviour. I would absolutely support them in going to the police if they felt there was a need to do that. And be prepared to be a witness. People should be able to go about their lives without being harassed or treated like an object.”

Up-skirting is taking a photograph or video of a person’s genitals or underwear without their consent using concealed cameras.

The council said it had taken down the film on Wednesday.

Mr Scarnell also pleaded guilty to “engaging in sexual communication with a child” and “causing a child to watch sexual content”.

Alongside his prison sentence, he was also made the subject of Sexual Harm Prevention Order (SHPI).

Detective Constable Andrew Hunter said it would prevent him from reoffending.

“Scarnell acted with complete disregard for anything other than his own sexual gratification,” he said.

“While he initially claimed he arranged the meeting to dissuade his target from engaging in sexual activity, a thorough investigation uncovered his true intent.”