Ipswich court: William Arthur Scott jailed for secretly recording naked child with secret toilet camera

An Ipswich man who used a hidden camera to film a child in the bathroom has been given a jail sentence.

A southwest Queensland man who secretly filmed a girl while she used the toilet has walked free from jail after spending three months behind bars for the crime.

A court has heard how a man used a hidden camera to film a girl using the bathroom. Picture: FILE

Judge Vicki Loury QC heard William Arthur Scott, 51, accidentally left the footage on a misplaced hard drive which was later found by someone known to the girl who appeared on the recording.

“There was some planning that went into what you did in terms of your obtaining and placing the recording device in the position to capture her,” Judge Loury said.

“You removed the device once you had captured the recording.

“You were careless as to how you saved that video … in that it ultimately was easily seen by another.”

The matter was before an Ipswich court.

Judge Loury QC said Scott never explained why he videoed the girl while she was naked.

“(She) was distressed when she became aware of what you had done,” she said.

Judge Loury QC said Scott, a noxious weed sprayer, had since moved to Toowoomba to live with family, where he helped care for his niece and nephew when he was not working.

Judge Vicki Loury QC.

Judge Loury QC said Scott had no criminal history involving child abuse, but he had been jailed for drug and break-and-enter crimes.

“Your offending is serious,” Judge Loury QC told Scott.

“Parliament has indicated that for this offence a sentence of actual imprisonment must be imposed which demonstrates how very serious even a non-contact offence is considered.”

In April, Scott pleaded guilty to indecent treatment of a child under 16 and was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment, suspended after three months for an operational period of 18 months.