Doctor charged after camera found in staff bathroom at Austin hospital
July 11, 2025 |
Cameras placed in toilets or showers has been a feature of privacy intrusive behaviour for almost as long as there have been working photographic equipment. In May the ABC reported in Women filmed in bathroom without their consent, former housemate to be sentenced over violation as did the Guardian in Every time I took a shower I thought: is he watching me?’ – the terrifying rise of secret cameras. Yesterday the ABC reports in Junior doctor charged after camera found in staff bathroom at Melbourne hospital that a trainee surgeon has been charged with stalking and using an optical device after a camera was found in a staff toilet at the Austin Hospital in Melbourne.
In Australia the common law has not responded to privacy protections and only tentatively in equity. The preference of legislatures was to criminalise such intrusive behaviour but shy away from providing civil remedies. That was an inadequate response. That significant gap in the law has been filled by the enactment of a statutory tort of serious invasion of privacy on 10 December 2024, taking effect on 10 June 2025. Behaviour as described in the ABC articles would provide a strong basis for issuing proceedings allegation a serious invasion of privacy.
The earlier ABC article provides:
When Sarah* moved into her first Sydney share house, the Canadian expat thought it was a “completely safe, normal environment”.
Months after moving out, she would find out it was the backdrop of a horrific violation of privacy and trust, perpetrated by her former male housemate.
Luis Alberto Cancino Mena had placed three female housemates under intimate surveillance without their knowledge or consent.
The 39-year-old man had set up a secret camera to film Sarah and two other women in a communal bathroom — including in the shower — and in one of their bedrooms.
“It’s a form of violence against women … If I’m not safe in my home, where can I be safe,”Sarah said.
After being called into a local police station, the 27-year-old said she sat in shock as she had to review one of several videos taken of her.
“I felt violated, scared, confused — I couldn’t believe someone could do such a thing,” Sarah said.
“It’s something that you would see on TV or in movies but never something that you could imagine happening to you.”
The discovery
Court documents show that cleaners at the home located a camera device shaped like a pen on the ground of the bathroom before they pulled it apart and found that it was recording.
After removing the storage device card inside, they found files of themselves cleaning the bathroom and a woman taking a shower.
The property owner took it to police.
Officers found a recording of Cancino setting up the camera and said he “made full and frank admissions” when interviewed by police.
The documents also showed that one woman was recorded in both the shared bathroom and inside her bedroom, with videos saved on his laptop under a folder with her name.
That is where a folder labelled “Sarah” was also found.
All three victims were unaware of the camera and did not give Cancino consent to film them.
“It was out of the blue for me, I didn’t expect that predator behaviour from him,”Sarah said.
“It definitely put me on edge, made me trust people less because of it and I just want this chapter of my life closed so I can move on.”
Cancino pleads guilty
Cancino, from Chile, pleaded guilty to three counts of intentionally record intimate video/image without consent.
Court documents show Cancino is in Australia on a temporary visa, which is about to expire.
His passport was seized by police and the documents show he told police he intended to return to Chile and not return to Australia.
He was expected to be sentenced on Thursday but the matter was adjourned until July with this lawyer saying outside court there is a “significant issue” with the statement of facts.
Sarah said she wants justice and had been attending each court appearance.
“It was definitely scary [seeing him in person again]. My heart was beating out of my chest … he’s a predator, he’s a criminal,” Sarah said.
“It was an attack on women, and I don’t think a person like that deserves to be here in Australia … ultimately I just want him to get what he deserves.”
Sarah said the delay in sentencing was disappointing and she wants to see him deported.
“I find that they’re finding any little reason to delay sentencing, it’s wasting my time, it’s wasting the courts time,” Sarah said.
“He doesn’t deserve to be here … He’s not a good person to have here and for the safety of the victims and other women, he needs to go.”
How common is this?
The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) said there were 422 finalised charges relating to recording or threatening to record intimate images without consent in 2024.
The data shows an uptick to the previous year, with 267 finalised charges in 2023.
“Despite the recent increase in charges, the proportion of proven charges has remained similar in 2024 (43 per cent proven) compared to the previous year (48 per cent proven in 2023),” BOCSAR said in a statement.
Monash Gender and Family Violence Prevention Centre director Bridget Harris said it was hard to know just how common this is because there could be many cases that go undetected.
“We don’t have the stats on this, but I would suspect, given other rates of technology-facilitated abuse, that gender and sexually diverse people are also experiencing high rates of digital voyeurism,” Dr Harris said.
‘Another thing women have to worry about’
Dr Harris, who leads Monash Criminology, said more needs to be done to target the ideologies that drive this type of harm, recognising that it as a form of gendered control and sense of entitlement to someone’s body.
She said often those most subjected to these harms are expected to try and prevent them.
“It’s just another form of … safety work that women will do, or other targets will do to try and prevent violence from happening and the burden is really often with victim survivors, especially when there aren’t enough mechanisms to help in detecting or regulating or stopping this harm.”
Sarah said she wants to warn others in the rental market to stay vigilant, acknowledging it was yet “another thing women have to worry about”.
“I think the rental market is so crazy … and we kind of let our guard down and let things slide just trying to get into a place,” Sarah said.
“I know that something like this is not my fault.
“I didn’t do anything to have this happen and there was nothing I could’ve done to prevent it. So speaking out, having my truth told, was important.”
The latest ABC article provides:
Victorian detectives have charged a trainee surgeon with stalking after his colleagues found a camera allegedly recording them in a staff toilet at a major Melbourne hospital.
The junior doctor, who is employed at The Austin Hospital, is also charged with using an optical surveillance device, after investigators raided his home in Heidelberg West.
Detectives will allege a mobile phone was found in a restricted staff toilet on July 3.
“The device is believed to have been in place for some time before staff became aware and reported the matter,” a police spokeswoman said.
The 27-year-old man was bailed and will appear at the Heidelberg Magistrates’ Court on August 29.
In an earlier statement to the ABC, a spokeswoman for Austin Health said the hospital contacted authorities.
“We take the safety and wellbeing of our staff extremely seriously and recently made a formal report to Victoria Police,” the spokeswoman said.
“As this matter is now with the police, we are not able to share more information about the nature of the report.”
CEO alerts hospital staff
Austin Health chief executive Jodie Geissler notified staff of the arrest through a hospital-wide email obtained by the ABC.
“In recent days we have become aware of some suspicious activity that has warranted a report to Victoria Police,” Ms Geissler told staff in the email.
“We have prioritised engaging with staff who, based on the current information, work in the potentially impacted areas of the hospital.
“We acknowledge the situation and the limited information we can share creates uncertainty and you probably have many questions. We commit to providing more information as soon as we can.”
The Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA) has been contacted for comment.