Jake James Devereux (25) appeared in the Dunedin District Court this afternoon on six charges of making an intimate visual recording as well as counts of theft and resisting.
Judge Michael Crosbie called it “demeaning, voyeuristic offending” but said there was a public interest in the defendant being treated for his addiction and psychological issues.
He sentenced him to 18 months' intensive supervision and rejected a bid to keep the man's name under wraps.
Devereux applied for name suppression on the basis that his surname was shared by several prominent professionals in the city.
Defence counsel Marie Taylor-Cyphers said others with the family name would be stigmatised by offending with such a “creepy motive” and their reputations may suffer.
Judge Michael Crosbie accepted the defendant had brought shame on the family but stressed that none of them were culpable.
“There can be no guilt by association and the family name is stronger and more powerful, as is any family name, than the falling from grace of an individual family member,” he said.
“Justice must not only be done, it must be seen to be done.”
Devereux’s sordid spree began in February last year when he was standing near a bus stop on George St.
He positioned himself behind a young woman who was boarding a bus and as she stepped up, the defendant held his phone in position to film up her skirt.
In May, Devereux was in the same area of the CBD, waiting at a pedestrian crossing.
Noticing a woman beside him wearing a short white skirt, he knelt down, pretending to tie his shoe laces and secretly activated his phone’s camera.
The next day he was at it again, employing similar tactics.
He filmed one woman outside Farmers but when he found another target inside the Princes St Night'n Day he was spotted.
Devereux crouched beside a woman wearing a long white dress standing near the till, pretending he was interested in items on a low shelf.
He held the phone between her legs and was witnessed making minor adjustments to his position as she swayed.
Devereux was kicked out by store security.
Court documents revealed his intimate recordings were not only restricted to impromptu street episodes.
On February 21 last year, the defendant checked into the Leviathan Hotel.
That morning Devereux saw a woman enter the shower, waited for her to turn the water on then placed his cell phone under the partition.
The victim saw the camera, screamed and the man hurriedly gathered his belongings and checked out.
Devereux was arrested and only released on strict bail conditions but, the court heard today, even that was not enough to stop his seedy habit.
Despite being barred from possessing a phone with a camera function, he took such a device to a central dairy in December and followed two women around the store.
The defendant was spotted by staff trying to film up the victim's skirt twice while they stood at the till.
Ms Taylor-Cyphers argued the gravity of her client's offending was low because it had not arisen through a relationship.
The acts were “impulsive”, she said, and the illicit footage was never distributed.
But Judge Crosbie said the number of victims and the invasive nature of the offending meant it could only be viewed as serious.
Though Devereux had a limited criminal history, he noted reports placed him at high risk of reoffending.
The defendant admitted the covert filming was for his own sexual gratification and said he “had not been with a woman for a while”.
Devereux accepted he had problems with substance abuse, said he felt shame and remorse over his actions and had deleted his up-skirt films after viewing them, hence the repeated offending.
The judge imposed judicial monitoring, meaning he will receive a report on the man's rehabilitative progress every three months.
Any problems may see Devereux re-sentenced.
