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This ex high-ranking embassy official could face jail time for planting camera in the embassy building's unisex bathroom

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Voyeurs are more commonly known as Peeping Toms
Voyeurs are more commonly known as Peeping Toms

Alfred Keating, an ex official with the highest ranking in the New Zealand embassy based in the U.S., will now be going on trial after his DNA was found on an SD card of video recorder that fell through a unisex bathroom ceiling on level three of the Washington D.C building that Alfred was stationed at according to the New Zealand Herald.

They also reported that the camera was initially found by an unsuspecting employee of the embassy in the bathroom who had assumed that someone had simply forgot it in there.

He then decided to leave it there should its owner return, but instead it was found by another employee, Stephen Warren who thought it suspicious for a camera to be left in a bathroom.

READ MORE: Protect yourself: how to avoid being a victim of revenge porn

The camera was then sent to New Zealand for DNA testing.

Saved on the recorder was a video of a man wearing blue latex gloves, a white shirt, black pants and a black Fitbit watch. After checking the embassy swipe card records, officials began suspecting Alfred as the man in the recording.

Thereafter, both his Fitbit and laptop were confiscated, which led to further evidence being found on his laptop that suggest that Alfred was indeed the perpetrator of this crime.

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His search history found that he had researched how to "set up a camera" and also places he could purchase a camera among other incriminating evidence.

Alfred denies these allegations and has pleaded not guilty to the charges. The video recorder was found in June 2017 but Alfred was immune to prosecution because of his position in the embassy. He however resigned from his post soon after the allegations surfaced.

According to CNN, the recorder may have been there for a long time as it was covered in a thick layer of dust. They also reported that he could face up to a year and a half in prison should he be found guilty.

While he hasn't been found guilty, it's important to highlight cases like these where women and people's privacy in general has been compromised.

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Earlier this year another case of illegal filming was reported in this BBC article after it was found that 1 500 Korean hotel guests were recorded and live streamed by recorders planted by four men.

The videos were streamed to a site that people paid to enter and watch.

Then there was also the case of over a dozen women who are suing a hospital for recording their gynecological surgeries in an attempt to capture a drug thief at the hospital. They have since issued an apology to these women and stopped using this surveillance method The Guardian reports.

Recently Netflix streamed Voyeur, an extraordinary doc of a man who admitted to "secretly watching his guests with the aid of specially designed ceiling vents" in the motel that he owned.

Is it a condition? Well, Psychology Today describes someone who suffers from voyeuristic disorder as the following:

"The individual normally experiences sexual arousal when spying intentionally on unsuspecting people. The person being watched may be naked, disrobing, or engaging in sexual activities. The voyeur may also record these acts for later viewing. Unintentional viewing of such acts is not considered voyeuristic disorder. Voyeurs are also known as “Peeping Toms,” who use binoculars, mirrors, and recording cameras while peering through peepholes and windows."

They also cite that men tend to engage in voyeuristic activities more than women do.

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