An Auckland man who used hidden cameras to secretly film his female friends, colleagues, children and teenagers in vulnerable positions has been sentenced to four years in prison.
Micah Te Ahu Fala, who had never previously appeared in court, now has an extensive rap sheet.
The agreed court Statement of Facts makes for unsettling reading and reveals the extensive scale of the offending.
Police found 236 videos and 1119 screenshots or images and there were known to be 22 victims of his crimes.
The 41-year-old pled guilty earlier this year to 42 charges, including possessing objectionable material, making objectionable publications, making an intimate visual recording and possession of intimate visual recordings.
1News understands Crown lawyers have struggled to find anything comparable to the scale of Fala’s offending, which happened over a period of nine-and-a-half years.
“The defendant operated small spy cameras, concealed in bathrooms to capture intimate visual recordings of his victims, entering the bathrooms, removing their clothing, showering, drying and dressing themselves and on occasions using the toilet,” the statement of facts said.
“Police investigations subsequently found evidence of the purchase of four spy cameras from Trade Me and eBay.”
It said the recordings and images were predominantly captured in bathrooms at nine different locations, including “a property where Mr Fala filmed through the window”.
He also faced three charges of sexual conduct with a child under 12, related to him stroking a child victim’s foot.
“The police also located hundreds of recordings of female feet amongst the defendant’s seized digital files. The feet belonged to at least three of the victims and were recorded without their knowledge or consent.
One recording shows the defendant stroking the feet of a 10-year-old victim as she slept. This child has been the victim of multiple intimate visual recordings.”
Fala organised the recordings into folders under each of the respective victim’s names.
And he knew how to use technology to surreptitiously watch victims.
“On some occasions he accessed the devices under the pretence of improving security on the device. On other occasions he would access the devices when they were left unattended,” the court document said.
Destroy the images
Judge Kevin Glubb made an order to destroy all the vision and images Fala captured and to register him on the child sex offender register.
The judge thanked everyone who spoke in court today for their courage. “It is clear this has had a huge impact on you. The statements echo the violation, the shock, the disgust.”
Justice Glubb said to Fala: “The effects of your deliberate offending have robbed them of that feeling of safety.”
He described the offending as “callous and disgusting conduct” which was done to “satisfy your sexual gratification”.
Fala’s risk of harm was assessed as high and the escalation of his sexual offending demonstrated “a sexual preoccupation”.
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 at locations across the North Island in June, leading to the arrest of the man.
When Fala plead guilty in February, Justice Glubb entered convictions on each charge and remanded him in custody. His name suppression continued until today’s sentencing but has now been lifted.
