Christopher Pooley: West Ryde printer caught recording topless women at Bondi Beach

A married man who covertly filmed a dozen topless women sunbathing on Sydney’s most iconic beach has appeared in court.

Christopher Pooley (back) and lawyer James Clements leaving Waverley Local Court on Tuesday.

Across the space of almost five hours, a married man spent his Saturday covertly videoing a dozen topless women on his iPhone at Sydney’s iconic Bondi Beach.

The devious behaviour of Christopher Pooley, a 44-year-old printer who took public transport from West Ryde to the eastern suburbs, was brought to a stop when the voyeur was spotted by a beachgoer who alerted police.

The man pleaded guilty at Waverley Local Court on Tuesday to filming a person’s private parts without consent on February 4.

Documents tendered to court outline how the recordings of women sunbathing topless were “targeted and lengthy”, with Pooley walking around the victims while focusing the camera on them.

Police approached the 44-year-old about 3.40pm and Pooley handed over his phone. He later told police officers the videos had been captured for future private use, for “sexual gratification”.

Christopher Pooley was caught videoing 12 different topless women at Bondi Beach on February 4.

Instead of sentencing the man, Magistrate Jacqueline Milledge immediately asked for a sentencing assessment report to take place.

“In all of this, nobody’s asked him why he did it,” she said.

Christopher Pooley will be sentenced at Waverley Local Court on May 3.

Pooley’s lawyer James Clements appealed for the matter to be immediately dealt with, saying a report wasn’t needed and would just “come back and say positive things”.

The court heard Pooley had sought help from a psychologist, however Magistrate Milledge noted there was only reference to the 44-year-old’s anxiety and not the offence.

“A lot of people suffer [from anxiety] … and they’re not fascinated by bare breasted women at the beach like your client,” she said.

“If he was only interested in women’s bare breasts, he could’ve just bought a magazine … why did he need to go to the beach [and record] 12 different females?”

The matter was adjourned for sentence on May 3.

Magistrate Milledge spoke directly to Pooley and said “I’ve listened to what Mr Clements has told me, I’m sure he has a lot to tell the court [but] I am concerned and if there is anything that’s causing you problems, I want you to be honest [to community corrections]”.