A Perth man has been jailed for nine months after he installed a hidden camera in the bathroom of a childcare centre where he worked.
Rodney Howard Ker, 51, was working as a groundsman at the Gowrie Early Childcare Education and Care Centre in Karawara in February last year when he hid the camera.
Mr Ker, who admitted he was a ‘peeping Tom’ since he was a child, disguised the device in an adapted rat trap and placed it in a locked unisex toilet, ABC reports.
Rodney Howard Ker was working as a groundsman at the Gowrie Early Childcare Education and Care Centre in Karawara (pictured) in February last year when he hid cameras in the toilet
The camera was found later the same day by another staff member, who confronted Mr Ker.
He then took the camera home and detroyed the contents on the memory card.
Police arrested Mr Ker at his home three days later, discovering recordings of three people – two women and a child – getting changed in the bathroom of his own home.
The 51-year-old admitted that between 2014 and 2016 he installed a hidden camera in his own bathroom to record people.
He pleaded guilty to four charges of installing an optical device to record a private activity, and one count of wilfully destroying evidence.
District Court Judge Michael Bowden accepted that Mr Ker knew his motive for the crimes was for ‘sexual gratification’.
Police arrested Mr Ker at his home three days later, where they found more recordings of people getting undressed in his bathroom (stock image)
Mr Ker told police he liked that people did not know he was recording them.
Since the offences, the 51-year-old moved to Queensland where he attended Sexaholics Anonymous sessions and he was remorseful for his crimes.
However, due to the serious nature of the offences, Judge Bowden sentenced Mr Ker to nine months’ jail to serve as a deterrent for future offenders.
Mr Ker will have to serve half the term before he can be released.
District Court Judge Michael Bowden sentenced the 51-year-old to nine months’ jail
Nick Wood, chairman of the childcare centre operator, released a statement regarding the incident.
‘The staff member involved in this incident was immediately dismissed from his employment with Gowrie WA and remains banned from going near any of our centres,’ Mr Wood said.
‘[He] was not directly connected in any way to the care of children, rather his position involved the provision of property services.’