A devious Illawarra husband who used a hidden camera to secretly record him and his wife having sex has had his sentence appeal thrown out of court.
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The man, who the Mercury has chosen not to name so as to protect his partner’s identity, admitted to filming his wife without her knowledge or consent on at least 21 occasions between 2008 and 2012.
Wollongong Local Court magistrate Peter Thompson sentenced the man to four months’ jail in early November, citing the significant breach of trust that came with his actions.
The man immediately lodged an appeal against the sentence, claiming it was too severe.
In an expedited appeal hearing in Wollongong District Court on Monday, defence lawyer Robert Steward suggested reducing the man’s sentence to a community-based intensive corrections order given his limited criminal record and his deep, genuine remorse.
However, Judge Andrew Haesler disagreed, finding the current sentence was appropriately.
“The magistrate got it right in my opinion,” he told the man, who appeared in court via video link from jail.
“Mr Steward has put forward everything that could possibly be put on your behalf … but the court has to take into account the gross breach of trust this represents, vindicate the dignity of the victim and signal to the community that offences like this won’t be tolerated.
“The magistrate’s sentence was the absolute minimum I would have imposed.”
Court documents said the woman discovered the recording device in January 2013 and confronted her partner about it.
He admitted recording her “a couple of of times” in the shower but claimed he’d deleted the videos.
The pair’s relationship continued until September 2016 when the woman found a USB stick containing 21 videos showing her naked in the shower and bedroom and the couple having sex.
The woman told police the footage stemmed back to 2008 when the pair began living together in Corrimal.
The man made full admissions to the illicit filming in an affidavit produced as part of their divorce proceedings.
The woman reported the matter to police in August 2017, leading to the man’s arrest.
The man will be eligible for release on parole in March next year.
