Ryan Yates facing additional charges of filming women at University of Newcastle toilets

A court has heard a Newcastle man accused of filming women inside cubicles at a university campus bathroom is facing additional charges against six women, as a bail request is granted.

Ryan Yates is accused of filming women in the University of Newcastle toilet cubicles. Generic image

Charges are mounting for a Newcastle man accused of filming women inside cubicles at a university campus bathroom, now facing additional charges against six different women.

Ryan Andrew Yates appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday and made a bid to get his onerous bail conditions changed from reporting to police three days a week to one.

The court heard the 23-year-old from Fletcher suffered from autism and obsessive compulsive disorder and would have panic attacks and was scared he was going to be arrested again.

His solicitor Bradley Gabb said Yates was working full time at a family accountancy firm while studying and was struggling to maintain a balance having to report to police three times a week.

The court heard the 23-year-old was not a flight risk and didn’t hold a passport and had “never been in trouble before”.

Several women reported being filmed by a man inside the University of Newcastle Hunter St campus on April 29.

Ryan Yates from Fletcher leaving Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday 23rd October, 2024. Picture: Amy Ziniak

It was alleged he walked into the female bathroom at about 2pm and began filming them over the top of the cubicles.

Following an investigation, Newcastle City detectives arrested Yates at his Fletcher home in May.

He was initially charged with one count of intentionally recording an intimate image without consent but in July was slapped with an additional three charges.

One of the charges included failure to comply with a digital evidence access order direction granted by Newcastle Local Court which court documents explained he had failed to provide his passcode to access the encrypted photo vault application installed on his mobile phone.

He was also charged with one count of produce child abuse material and using an AI image generating program to make specific requests on the same day he was accused of filming the women.

And is also facing a charge of using a carriage service to solicit child abuse material on May 6 by using encrypted messaging app Telegram.

On Wednesday it was revealed Yates is facing a further six counts of intentionally recording an intimate image without consent which court documents confirmed related to six different women.

The Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions opposed his change in bail conditions and cited the seriousness of the offences and the motivation for him to “abscond”.

Yates appeared in Newcastle Local Court on Wednesday where he had his bail conditions reduced.

He told the court three days of reporting was warranted and had only been imposed in May, arguing it was a short period for Yates to comply.

But Magistrate Ian Cheetham said although the allegations were serious, he was satisfied the 23-year-old had complied with his bail conditions and was not a flight risk, reducing his reporting conditions to just once a week.

He will however have to continue to comply with a long list of strict bail conditions which include not going within 500 metres of any departure in Australia and not to enter the University campus in Newcastle including the Callaghan campus.

He’s also been ordered not to approach, loiter or access within 100 metres of any public female toilets, preschools, childcare facilities or playgrounds or contact anyone 16 years or under.

The 23-year-old is also unable to contact anyone 16 years or under via phone, email, social media or any other internet messaging service and must not access the internet through a third party unless for specific reasons such as employment or own more than one phone or computer.