An Auckland man who secretly hid cameras in bathrooms and filmed multiple women and girls has pleaded guilty to 42 charges.
There are 21 known victims of his crimes, including a police officer, though the identity of three victims remain unknown. The filming happened over a period of eight years.
The 41-year-old appeared in court via an AVL link this afternoon and has continuing name suppression with that issue set to be argued at his sentencing on April 3.
Victims have also been granted name suppression.
The case is unusual on a number of fronts, including the scale of the man’s crimes. Charges were laid under both the Crimes Act and the Films Videos and Publications Classification Act.
1News understands the offender was part of a large friend group which became a pool for him to target his victims.
In court documents, police paint a disturbing picture of the man intentionally making intimate visual recordings of women and girls.
Some of the details are distressing. In one case, the document says: “Without lawful authority or excuse had in his possession an objectionable publication namely 54 videos and 274 screenshots of [victim’s name], a young person, naked while showering and getting changed, by using a camera to record her without her knowledge knowing or having reasonable cause to believe that the publication is objectionable.”
He also preyed upon a primary-aged child, indecently assaulting her by stroking her foot on a number of occasions.
The man has admitted breaching the privacy of victims in other ways including accessing their computer systems to obtain private information, images and conversations.
Judge Kevin Glubb entered convictions on each charge and remanded the man in custody.
Operation Frost
The offending was uncovered by police’s Operation Frost, led by Auckland City’s Child Exploitation Team, which started investigating in September 2023.
In July this year, Detective Sergeant Rick Veacock said: “These are serious allegations, involving covertly made intimate visual recordings and objectionable publications.”
He said at the time that search warrants had been carried out at addresses in Auckland, Waiheke Island and Taupō in June, leading to the arrest of the man.