The identity of an Auckland father accused of covertly filming his teenage daughter and foreign exchange students in the shower has been kept secret for another three months.
The Herald on Sunday fought unsuccessfully in the Auckland District Court last week to lift suppression orders which prevent hisname, workplace or occupation being revealed. The 47-year-old has been charged with three counts of filming girls under the age of 16 in the shower, possessing 193 objectionable images and photographing a young girl who was partially naked.
Judge Josephine Bouchier ruled that the suppression orders imposed in March remain until the police evidence against the man is heard in August. Bouchier said the child pornography allegations were serious and punishable by up to 10 years' imprisonment. But as the case was at an early stage, the presumption of open justice was outweighed by the privacy of the man's children.
At least one of the children could be a police witness.
Standing in the dock with his head bowed and hands clasped, the defendant heard that he could face further charges. Police raided his home in March after a colleague who was fixing his laptop allegedly found a file containing nearly 200 images and films of girls. Three of the films were allegedly shot last year through a grille above the shower - one of the man's daughter and two of exchange students.
His children are now being cared for by their mother.
