The identity of a man who repeatedly hid a spy camera in an Auckland gym's changing rooms will be revealed, after a Court of Appeal ruling.
A Court of Appeal ruling released today allows for the man to be publicly named in 10 working days. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
The man was in a senior role at a government agency when, in November 2017, he put the camera under the sink at least four times, capturing a naked couple getting into a shower together, as well as four other people naked or partially dressed.
A Court of Appeal ruling released today allows for the man to be publicly named in 10 working days.
The man has also been convicted for making an intimate visual recording, after the ruling by Justices Kos, Thomas and Gendall.
The man was initially discharged without conviction and given permanent name suppression by District Court Judge Clare Bennett.
Police, RNZ and NZME went to the High Court last year to challenge the permanent name suppression. Police also appealed the discharge without conviction.
In the High Court, Justice Moore found Judge Bennett had consulted the incorrect summary of facts, so thought the man had only put the camera in the changing room once.
He said the crime "involved significant premeditation" and it was "unequivocally serious offending".
He quashed the discharge without conviction and permanent name suppression.
The man then went to the Court of Appeal.
The Court of Appeal ruling said any adverse consequences the man might experience would "flow from his offending, not the publication of his name" and allowed for the man to be publicly named in 10 working days.
When it came to convicting the man, the ruling said the High Court judge had taken an "orthodox and correct approach in distinguishing between the consequences of a conviction and those of the offending itself".
