A sailor has been dismissed from the Navy and sentenced to six months' detention for secretly filming women showering and using the toilet while on a voyage.
Ordinary Electronic Technician David Timothy Simpson, 28, was due to stand trial at the Devonport naval base on Tuesday.
However at the start of the hearing, he unexpectedly pleaded guilty to 24 charges of making and possessing intimate recordings and a military charge of acting in an indecent and disgraceful manner.
Extensive suppression orders prevent Radio New Zealand from revealing when the recordings were made, the number of victims, their ages, where the ship was, what vessel they were on and who else was on board.
A summary of facts read to the court said that Simpson used his mobile phone to film the women showering and going to the toilet on a Navy ship over a two-day period.
Simpson filmed the women through a hole in the bathroom wall. After being caught in the act, his colleagues found 49 videos totalling more than 90 minutes of footage on his laptop.
Simpson told them he was filming through the hole because he had lost his glasses so couldn't see properly through it. When questioned by his bosses, he admitted that his actions were wrong, but said he was just curious.
Captain James Kennedy-Good represented the military and told the court Simpson had a moderate to high risk of sexual re-offending. He recommended that he be jailed for up to a year and kicked out of the Navy.
Simpson's defence team told the court while dismissal looked inevitable, he should serve the military version of home detention instead of jail.
Simpson's dismissal will come into force after he serves the detention at the Burnham Military Base in Christchurch.
