A Pilipino immigrant working at the Tim Hortons in Grand Bend has been handed a conditional discharge and probation after pleading guilty to voyeurism amid a botched attempt to secretly record a woman while she was showering.
A Filipino immigrant working at the Tim Hortons in Grand Bend has been handed a conditional discharge and probation after pleading guilty to voyeurism amid a botched attempt to secretly record a woman while she was showering.
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A Sarnia courtroom heard the 31-year-old man went in the bathroom of a home on Main Street West in the busy beach town in May 2023 and hid his cellphone with the camera rolling just before the woman went to shower. But shortly after undressing, the woman noticed his phone and put her clothes back on.
She shot a video of the hidden phone as evidence and watched the recording on her phone, which showed the man – his face and tattoos were visible – going into the bathroom and hiding it. She sent herself a copy of the video from her phone and deleted it from her device.
The man, who lost his job after he was charged and has since moved to London, recently pleaded guilty to voyeurism. He got a discharge, as suggested by both lawyers, which is conditional on completing two years of probation. It has several rules including banning him from talking to the woman or being in Grand Bend.
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The man’s lawyer, Antin Jaremchuk, said his client, who never saw the video he tried to record, is beyond remorseful for what he did.
“He understands the profound impact that his actions have had on (her) and the seriousness of the offense,” he said. “He truly regrets his actions.”
The woman wrote a statement on how the incident affected her. Justice Paul Kowalyshyn read it to himself and it wasn’t heard in court, but he made a few comments about it.
“That victim-impact statement reflects the impact – the serious impact – that your actions have had on her,” he said.
The judge was struck by several things she wrote, such as her disbelief in what happened and how it affects her day-to-day life including a fear of using public bathrooms.
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The man read from a statement he wrote, where he apologized.
“I acknowledge and empathize with the pain, distress, and anxiety that (she) is experiencing,” he said. “I appreciate that it’s difficult, but I will ask for her forgiveness.”
He also asked his wife, who arrived in Canada from the Philippines just days after he was charged, to forgive him.
“I have learned a lot from this experience and hope to be a better person as a result,” he said.
Jaremchuk added this incident was out of character for his client, who now is facing potential immigration issues.
“It was a momentary, impulsive act demonstrating a seriously appalling lack of judgment,” he said.
“Whether it is an out-of-character choice, bad judgment or not, your actions not only changed your life and your family’s life, but they also changed the life of (the victim),” Kowalyshyn said. “Essentially, sir, you violated her trust.”
This is the second voyeurism case that’s concluded in Sarnia this fall. A 19-year-old Sarnia man was recently jailed about 4.5 months for following a woman around the Real Canadian Superstore in August 2023 and recording videos up her skirt.
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