Pervert landlord, 49, who secretly filmed tenants showering and performing sex acts is jailed

Pervert landlord, 49, who secretly filmed tenants showering and performing sex acts on themselves bought a spy camera after seeing it advertised on Facebook

  • Landlord who filmed tenants showering and performing sex acts has been jailed
  • James Ernest Maxwell, 49, fronted Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday 
  • He recorded intimate images without consent and installed a device to observe
  • The 49-year-old was jailed for 28 months with a non-parole period of 12 months

A Sydney landlord who secretly hid spy cameras and filmed tenants showering and performing sex acts on themselves has been jailed for at least a year. 

James Ernest Maxwell, 49, fronted Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, where he was charged with hiding cameras in two Pyrmont buildings last year. 

The 49-year-old pleaded guilty to 11 charges including intentionally recording an intimate image without consent and installing a device to observe or film another. 

James Ernest Maxwell, 49 (pictured), fronted Downing Centre Local Court on Wednesday, where he was charged with hiding cameras in two Pyrmont buildings last year

Magistrate Kate Thompson said Maxwell’s victims all thought when they closed their door, the only other people present were those in the room. 

‘The victims were oblivious that their most intimate moments and lives were being recorded,’ the magistrate said. 

Maxwell was charged in 2018 after a tenant at one of two units he managed found a small lens hidden in the face of a clock kept in a bathroom, according to a facts sheet tendered in court.

When the tenant then saw an SD card at the back of the clock and plugged it into his computer, he found videos of his housemates naked, showering, using the toilet and masturbating.

Police would also discover cameras hidden across Maxwell’s two units – in a clock in a couple’s bedroom, in a watch and in a clock facing the bed of his roommate. 

Officers seized multiple items from one unit which were capable of recording audio and vision, including clocks, laptops and mobile phones, which contained a ‘significant amount of material and data’.

Maxwell (pictured) was charged in 2018 after a tenant at one of two units he managed found a lens hidden in the face of a clock in a bathroom, according to a facts sheet tendered in court

Maxwell (pictured) was charged in 2018 after a tenant at one of two units he managed found a lens hidden in the face of a clock in a bathroom, according to a facts sheet tendered in court

An examination of seized items revealed videos and images of people captured ‘in private acts including showering, using the toilet, masturbating and sexual intercourse’.  

Maxwell claimed he installed the devices after he came across an advertisement for spy cameras, which popped up on his Facebook feed, the court heard. 

After installing the discreet spy cameras, the landlord filmed tenants having sex, going to the toilet, masturbating and showering. 

Maxwell, who was born in Barbados, and bizarrely referred to himself as ‘Tiger’, has been living in Australia for a decade. 

Maxwell (pictured) pleaded guilty to intentionally recording an intimate image without consent and installing a device to observe or film another

Maxwell (pictured) pleaded guilty to intentionally recording an intimate image without consent and installing a device to observe or film another

Maxwell claimed he installed the devices after he came across an advertisement for spy cameras, which popped up on his computer, the court heard (stock image)

Maxwell claimed he installed the devices after he came across an advertisement for spy cameras, which popped up on his computer, the court heard (stock image) 

A legal aid lawyer said her client had experienced ‘extreme levels of remorse’ for the offending, which had led him to quit his dream job as a flight attendant. 

A former friend previously said Maxwell lived a jet-set lifestyle and continually posted pictures of exotic locations to social media. 

Magistrate Thompson on Wednesday jailed the 49-year-old for 28 months with a non-parole period of 12 months. 

When handing down her sentence, Magistrate Thompson said Maxwell had expressed genuine remorse for his crime and given up work because of his actions.

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