A Sunshine Coast man’s been given a suspended prison sentence for secretly filming six women using his home toilet over three years.
The Maroochydore Magistrate's Court heard Jamie Steven Kuz, now 41, invited people from his church group to his home on several occasions between January 2018 and March 2021, and set up his phone in a bag in the toilet to film women.
His crimes came to light when one woman noticed the phone, saw the videos on it and realised she had been filmed.
She then transferred some videos to her own phone, before confronting Mr Kuz about it.
The Sippy Downs man pleaded guilty to 10 charges of making observations or recordings in breach of a person's privacy.
People 'expect privacy' on the toilet
Prosecutor David Hoffman told the court that "going to the toilet … is one place that every person in the community should expect privacy. Never should a person expect they will be filmed."
Mr Hoffman said that the women would be forever affected by the crime, and that many "feel the need to conduct the search each time they go to the toilet outside their home."
Mr Hoffman described the recordings as a premeditated crime.
"The victims believed they were at a safe place, all part of the same church group and believed they should be able to go about whatever they needed to do."
Kuz's lawyer, Gabe Hutchinson, told the court that his client was remorseful and "wishes to see justice for his victims", adding that the 41-year-old had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity.
He also told the court that Kuz had confessed to some recordings the police didn't know about, after he was caught.
Mr Hutchinson told the court that his client would likely lose a job he'd had for nine years at a call centre, as he would now fail a required police check.
Profound psychological impact
Magistrate Catherine Benson said she accepted an expert psychologist report that Kuz had been abused himself as a child, and that may go some way to explaining his behaviour.
But Magistrate Benson said Kuz had “only recently” taken steps to get counselling to address his issues, and would need “significant support” to prevent further offending.
“The psychological impact has been profound and will be ongoing,” she said.
She gave Kuz a six-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, with an 18-month period of probation where he would be required to get counselling.
Magistrate Benson also ordered that a conviction be recorded.
Police warn privacy breaches becoming more common
Outside court, Senior Sergeant David Bradley, said police were increasingly seeing breaches of privacy using recordings on phones.
He said the crime was exacerbated because the victims thought they were in a safe place as they knew Kuz.
"They expected and should have been afforded the privacy of the circumstances they were in. It was an absolute abuse of trust and that privacy," he explained.
Senior Sergeant Bradley said he was satisfied that the court had made orders for Kuz to get help.
"There's also a significant suspended sentence hanging over his head, so we feel it is a sound sentence and sends a good message to the community," Senior Sergeant Bradley said.
