A CROSS-dressing burglar has been jailed indefinitely for a catalogue of “chilling” crimes.

Gary Dean Marie, 42, committed more than 30 offences, including voyeurism, aggravated burglary and assaulting police officers, a court heard yesterday.

Marie, of Lubbock Street, Burnley, was a sexual offender who broke into several homes and filmed himself wearing underwear belonging to teenage girls in Burnley and Padiham, Preston Crown Court was told.

And he also assaulted three police officers using CS gas when they tried to arrest him.

Yesterday, a judge, jailing Marie for an indeterminate length of time, said the case was one of the most “complex and difficult” he had ever dealt with, and had had a “profound” effect on its victims.

Police said they were “delighted” with the sentence handed down to “dangerous and prolific” Marie, who had committed more than 60 previous offences.

And they also revealed that more victims, both in East Lancashire and abroad, may also have been abused by Marie, who was born in the Channel Islands.

The court had earlier been told that plain clothes police officers arrested Marie at 3am in March last year after spotting him riding a bike in Padiham.

However, Marie, wearing dark clothing and a home-made balaclava, fled and fired CS gas, flooring three officers.

Eventually, he was arrested and was found to be carrying a mobile phone, a camera, keys, tools and sanitary towels. It was also revealed that the balaclava was a pair of women’s underwear.

Later, in custody, he was also found to be wearing a woman’s thong and a sports bra.

Meanwhile, images were found on the mobile phone and camera of Marie in bedrooms, dressed again in women’s underwear and performing sex acts on himself.

Detectives charged Marie with assault and going equipped and launched an investigation, involving newspaper coverage, to trace the bedrooms where the footage was filmed.

One house in the images was found to be the home of a woman and her 15-year-old daughter, whose bedroom Marie had filmed himself in.

Richard Haworth, prosecuting, said Marie was heard to say: “I hope you don’t mind me borrowing your underwear. They smell nice.”

The court was read impact statements from four of Marie’s victims, including the 15-year-old.

Nicholas Clarke, defending, said Marie’s pursuits were “entirely solo” and he had spoken to psychiatrists in a bid to “understand himself”.

Judge Stuart Baker said: “This is one of the most complex and difficult to understand cases that I have confronted in my period of service on the bench.

“Your victims undoubtedly regard you as being a dangerous man within the community and the sort of dangerous person that will give them every reason to be careful or worry when things go bump in the night.

“It is behaviour that anyone is bound to find chilling.”

Marie was handed an indeterminate sentence, with a minimum of six years, minus 426 days already spent behind bars on remand.

He was also placed on the sex offenders’ register for 10 years, banned from contacting the victims and disqualified from working with children.

After the case, Det Insp Stuart Dixon, who led the investigation, said: “We are delighted with the sentence.

“Gary Dean Marie is a very dangerous and prolific offender and he posed a significant risk to the community.”