Auckland man Micah Fala who secretly filmed girls, women with covert spy cameras jailed for four years

• An Auckland man who secretly filmed 22 women and girls has been sentenced for his crimes.
• Micah Fala pleaded guilty to charges including making objectionable videos and sexual conduct with a child.
• A mother whose children were targeted described the lasting impact and called for regulation on covert cameras.

Victims of a man who secretly filmed 22 women and girls as young as 12 using covert spy cameras say his crimes were a “grotesque violation” and betrayal.

Auckland supply chain manager Micah Fala appeared for sentencing today at Auckland District Court wearing a grey T-shirt and shorts.

He pleaded guilty to 42 charges last year related to offending which occurred over nearly a decade.

Many of the victims were secretly filmed as they showered, undressed or used the toilet. Investigators found a huge cache of videos and still images stored via individual victim files.

The charges include knowingly possessing objectionable material, knowingly making an objectionable publication and multiple charges for sexual conduct with a young person.

Micah Fala pleaded guilty to 42 charges for his offending. Photo / Supplied

The first survivor to read her victim impact statement said she had to look at stolen private moments of herself and others.

“I felt anger, sadness, shock, guilt and disgust.“

She said the victims were now part of a club they didn’t ask to join.

“The betrayal and violation is beyond words.”

The woman expressed anger that she had to look through the videos to identify victims she recognised, while he was in prison choosing not to do it himself.

Fala watched the woman as she delivered her statement then closed his eyes once she left the stand.

Auckland man Micah Fala appears for sentencing today in the Auckland District Court for offending against 22 women and girls. Photo / Dean Purcell

The second survivor to read her victim impact statement said when she sat with a detective to see the footage for the first time it was “confronting and raw”.

The woman also had to identify other women and children who Fala had captured.

“I will never forget the pain he caused.

“Our lives are not your porn.”

She thanked the police for their work on the case.

The third victim impact statement, read in court by police, said learning of Fala’s offending was a “smack in the face with a steel baseball bat”.

She said the humiliation and betrayal was like a “screwed up Netflix script”.

What scares her the most is the unknown, as she said police only found screenshots of her video, not the full recording.

“It terrifies me if Micah is ever freed from prison.”

‘I couldn’t see the monster standing in front of me’

Another victim said she is “haunted” by every interaction she’d had with Fala.

“If I couldn’t see the monster standing in front of me, what does that say about my instinct?”

She said his offending was a “grotesque violation” and believes he is a “danger to society”.

The woman cried as she urged the court not to apply leniency.

Micah Fala. Photo / Supplied

Another woman spoke of Fala’s offending against her children.

“I cry every single day.

“I feel so violated it makes me physically ill. As a mother, he has destroyed me.”

One of the children said Fala stole something from her that could “never be returned”.

In her statement, read by her mother, she said she was filmed when she was aged between 11 and 12.

Her phone became a source of fear, as he had had access to her iCloud.

“I became different, reserved and isolated from my life.

”What he has done to me has ruined the last year of my life and it has ruined every memory that I have created with my family."

Judge Kevin Glubb at today's sentencing in Auckland District Court. Photo / Dean Purcell

Prosecutor Rebekah Thompson said an appropriate starting point for the covert offending was five and a half to six years’ imprisonment.

All but one of the 22 victims had now been identified. For some victims, Fala had hundreds of images of them.

Thompson told the court she was unable to find a case with the same level of offending, which occurred across nine addresses.

Fala had separate folders for the different victims. Five of them were children at the time, aged between 9 and 16.

“No one expects to be seen toileting, showering, dressing, let alone being recorded doing those things.”

Discounts could be given for Fala’s early guilty plea and his help identifying some victims.

Thompson said she also received a “late in the piece” letter of remorse.

‘Depraved sexual fantasies’ - Fala bought spy cameras on Ebay, TradeMe

Judge Kevin Glubb said Fala had operated small spy cameras concealed in bathrooms, which he’d purchased on Ebay and TradeMe.

Some of the video files showed Fala entering and leaving a bathroom shortly before the victim.

The judge said Fala accessed some of the victims’ personal devices and downloaded their private media files.

Fala had more than 100 photos of women and girls’ underwear in the files.

In June of 2021, a 9-year-old child was sleeping when Fala recorded himself stroking her feet. He made similar recordings on two other occasions.

Judge Glubb noted the “high level” of planning and premeditation involved in the offending.

“This was a gross breach of trust.”

He said Fala breached the assumed privacy the women and girls had for his own “depraved sexual fantasies”.

“Your depravity and perversion knew no bounds.”

Judge Glubb said Fala robbed his victims of their sense of “safety and peace” with his “callous and disgusting conduct”.

“I see no mitigating features whatsoever in this offending.”

Fala had received counselling while in custody and acknowledged his offending was manipulative and an “extreme abuse of trust”.

“There is no tariff for this offending, counsel have been unable to find any case that mirrors what you have done.”

Judge Glubb adopted a starting point of six years’ imprisonment, with a six-month uplift.

After discounts for his guilty plea, rehabilitative efforts and cooperation with police, he was sentenced to four years’ imprisonment.

The judge ordered the destruction of all devices where the files were obtained.

Given the nature of the charges, Judge Glubb said Fala would be registered on the child sex offender register.

Detective Inspector Scott Beard told media outside court this afternoon Fala had taken advantage of vulnerable victims.

“Unfortunately this is not a rare occurrence.

“Research says a high percentage of online offenders become contact offenders. And I think by these victims coming forward, what have you prevented?”

Beard said he hated to think what could have happened if Fala had been allowed to continue.

In this digital age, he said people need to be aware there are predators out there and they will purchase equipment to hide and use for their own sexual gratification.

‘Access to our girls’

A mother whose children were targeted by Fala earlier told the Herald their nightmare is “never-ending”.

“It’s just having to live that every single day when I want to go take a shower.”

The mother, who can’t be named for legal reasons, said Fala was involved in their lives on a weekly if not daily basis.

“I feel like the whole thing was him planting the seeds to get more and more access to our girls.”

His offending had a lasting impact on the family and tainted previously positive memories.

Micah Fala being sentenced in the Auckland District Court for offending labelled a "grotesque" betrayal by his victims. Photo / Dean Purcell

“I was on anxiety and depression medication because I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. When I’m going to stay in a hotel, I freak out, I get anxiety, I can’t sleep. I don’t know if there’s cameras in the room.”

Her advice to other parents is to follow their gut instinct if they feel something is wrong.

She believes regulation is needed around who can purchase covert visual equipment.

“You can buy [spy cameras] for $60 off Temu.

“It’s actually shocking to see how many things are out there that are fake and have a secret camera in them and people just aren’t aware.”

Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers social issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.

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