Isaac James Element pleads guilty to filming naked woman without her consent
A woman taking a shower at an Airlie Beach backpackers’ hostel was horrified to look up and see a smartphone filming her naked body. See how the offender explained himself.
Police & Courts
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A former Whitsunday backpackers’ hostel employee has been caught secretly filming a woman taking a shower then trying to talk her out of reporting him to police.
Isaac James Element used his smartphone to film a female colleague as she undressed, showered and dried herself off in a communal bathroom at an Airlie Beach hostel on a Thursday afternoon in July, rushing to delete multiple videos when the horrified woman confronted him about it.
Proserpine Magistrates Court heard Element positioned his phone in some louvres above the locked bathroom door to film the woman before she looked up and realised what was happening and yelled out, “What are you doing?”
Police Prosecutor Sergeant Emma Myors told the court Element was visibly shaking when the woman came face-to-face with him outside the bathroom, and only offered to let the woman see his phone after he had wiped it of multiple recordings she featured in, including one video that was 12-15 seconds long.
The court heard the 20 year old initially said he was sorry and did not know why he had done what he had done, but also told the woman, “I’m all about advertising.”
“English is not her [the victim’s] first language, and we believe he was actually saying he’s all about ‘voyeurism’, which is about gaining sexual pleasure from observing others naked,” Sgt Myors explained.
A police search of the hostel, where both Element and the victim lived and worked at the time, did not find any illegal images or videos on any of Element’s devices.
It did however find a quantity of marijuana and associated utensils, resulting in charges for possession.
The charge of observations of recordings in breach of privacy (genital or anal region) came after Element made admissions to the filming during a pretext telephone conversation with the victim, in which he also tried to “guilt” her out of pressing charges by explaining the implications it could have for his future.
Solicitor Elizabeth Smith said her client had been drinking alcohol in the lead up to the offence, which occurred just a few days after he had broken up with his girlfriend.
Ms Smith said Element had already suffered the loss of his job and lodgings, and rejection from his friend group in the aftermath of the offence, and asked that this be considered in his sentencing.
Magistrate James Morton said Element’s actions were a breach of trust and “very stupid”.
“He’s been caught with his pants down, basically,” Mr Morton said.
“Just because it’s at a backpackers doesn’t mean it’s acceptable.”
He put Element on a $500 good behaviour bond for 12 months, with no conviction recorded.
He also ordered the forfeiture of the seized drug utensils.
“Next time you see some a young lady and get a desire, use some common sense and put your phone away,” Mr Morton said.
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