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SYDNEY - A former Sydney schoolteacher convicted of using a hidden camera to film up the skirts of schoolgirls has walked free from court.
Robert Ian Drummond, 42, a former teacher at Cromer High School on Sydney's northern beaches, was convicted last month of producing and possessing pornography.
In Sydney's Downing Centre Local Court today, Magistrate Julie Huber sentenced Drummond to a suspended four-month jail term and a three-year good behaviour bond.
Drummond was charged after a 14-year-old girl noticed him filming up her skirt with a video camera concealed inside a bag placed at her feet in Warringah Mall in May last year.
The teenager spotted a red light indicating the camera was turned on and reported it to police.
A subsequent police search of Drummond's home uncovered two videos featuring the 14-year-old and another girl, aged 16, filmed in the same fashion at Manly Council Library.
Ms Huber said the community "had a right to be outraged by the accused's behaviour", but categorised the charges "at the lower end of the scale".
She said it was clear Drummond did not intend to distribute the images, he had no prior relevant criminal record and witnesses had told the court he was "of otherwise good character".
His only previous offence had been a drink-driving conviction 10 years ago.
The magistrate also acknowledged the damage Drummond had caused to his own life and career through his behaviour.
"The accused accepts he won't be able to continue his career and that his life plan is in shatters," she said.
Drummond, who was supported in court by his mother, two sisters and brother-in-law, refused to speak to reporters as he left the court.
At the sentencing hearing earlier today, Drummond's lawyer, Peter Gow, said his client was plagued with psychological problems for a number of years, which resulted in his behaviour.
"Something seems to have happened to him (Drummond) in his mid-thirties. He developed this defeatist mentality which slowly eroded his strength of character and he lost sight of things most reliable to him, such as his personal relationships ... which culminated in the subject's behaviour," Mr Gow said.
He said Drummond's mother had described her son as "pessimistic, depressed, isolated in recent years ... and emotionally withdrawn".
When asked by his mother how he could commit such a crime, Mr Gow said he had replied: "I was delusional in my thinking, I lost my values, I lost my way. I did what I did because I wasn't hurting anyone."
Mr Gow had called for a non-custodial sentence, saying Drummond acknowledged his actions were inappropriate.
"He acknowledges he has let down himself, the community, the school and his family," he said.
The suspended jail term is on the condition Drummond continue to undergo counselling until his psychiatrist considers his treatment no longer necessary.
- AAP