A Perth father-of-three’s “double life” has been revealed in court as he was jailed for using his IT skills to hack into the personal data of scores of unsuspecting women.

Michael Clapsis, 44, was sentenced on Friday in Perth District Court after a major police investigation uncovered thousands of intimate images and videos of women – one of whom was just 17 – on his devices last year.

The IT professional, who grew up in Mosman Park and went to Christian Brothers College in Fremantle, was arrested at Perth Airport after an airline employee reported concerns about a suspicious WiFi network during a domestic flight in April 2024.

Australian Federal Police searched Clapsis’ luggage and seized a portable wireless access device, a laptop and a mobile phone from his hand luggage. They also searched his Palmyra home.

A month later he was arrested, with the AFP alleged Clapsis used the portable wireless access device to “create ‘evil twin’ free WiFi networks” which lured unsuspecting users into believing they were legitimate services.

When police asked for the pin code to access Clapsis’ data, he gave them the wrong one, before deleting nearly 2000 images and videos of a total of 17 women in various stages of undress and partaking in sexual activity.

“No one should ever have to go through this,” one his victims said in a letter tendered to the court.

“How could someone do this? I feel like I have eyes on me 24/7.

“Thoughts of hatred, disgust and shame have impacted me severely. Even though they were only pictures, they were mine not yours.”

Another of his victims who used to work with Clapsis went on to become a police officer, and he downloaded pictures she had of herself in uniform.

“The realisation that this information was taken from me has left me exposed and vulnerable,” she wrote.

Another woman spoke of feeling unsafe after the violation.

“I felt like someone was always watching me,” she said.

Between April 22 and 23, 2024, Clapsis also used a computer software tool to unlawfully access his employer’s laptop to access confidential online meetings between his employer and the AFP regarding the investigation.

Police found Clapsis had “curated” the images and videos of the women into folders under their names, which he had been collecting for nearly 10 years.

“It was done, not as part of a joint effort or collaboration, but by Mr Clapsis alone without the knowledge or assistance of anyone else,” his lawyer Anthony Ayres told the court.

“It was done for sexual voyeurism. It was not done to the financial detriment of his victims or for his financial benefit.”

Throughout his offending, Clapsis was living a double life, Ayres told the court.

He had a successful career in a $160,000-a-year IT job, a wife and three children in an idyllic Palmyra property, all the while quietly spying on the lives of vulnerable young women.

“He has brought shame to himself and his family,” Ayres told the court.

“He’s sought to seek help, to seek insight, to seek understanding and address his way of thinking.”

Clapsis was diagnosed with level one autism spectrum disorder, but it was not linked to his offending, the court was told. He did, however, show signs of suffering from voyeurism disorder.

Judge Darren Renton sentenced Clapsis for a combined total of seven years and four months in jail, with eligibility for parole after three years and eight months.

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