A Perth man secretly recorded women and girls on public transport using a phone deliberately placed on his bag so he could see up their clothing, a court has been told.<\/p>\n
The District Court in Perth heard Adam Simon McGovern was “hiding in plain sight” when he made the recordings.<\/p>\n
He allegedly focused on the breasts and buttocks of women and girls, some in their school uniforms, in supermarkets and on buses and trains in suburban Perth.<\/p>\n
Mr McGovern, 50, is on trial, accused of dozens of charges of indecent recording, which allegedly occurred in late 2022. His youngest alleged victim was under 13 at the time.<\/p>\n
Court told of upskirting<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Mimi Yeung told the District Court that secretly taking videos of underwear, or “upskirting”, was sexually intrusive when the women and girls were unaware and had not given permission.<\/p>\n
Ms Yeung said Mr McGovern placed the phone “somewhere unassuming”, in the outside pocket of a bag or backpack, and turned on the video camera.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Prosecutor Mimi Yeung said Mr McGovern made the recordings for his own gratification. (ABC News: David Weber)<\/p>\n
She told the jury Mr McGovern would find women or girls and would “linger” or sit across from them, filming from a “low position” and moving his bag to “get a better angle”.<\/p>\n
In some cases, Ms Yeung said, he followed children “all the way” to their school entrances.<\/p>\n
He was “hiding in plain sight”, she said, making secret and indecent recordings “for his own gratification”.<\/p>\n
School principals to testify<\/p>\n
The prosecutor said police found 36 recordings on Mr McGovern’s laptop in January 2023, ranging from one minute to 30 minutes in length.<\/p>\n
She told the jury nine hours of recordings would be played in court and “the more you see, the more it will become apparent” what he was doing.<\/p>\n
School principals would be giving evidence about children who were targeted.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr McGovern is alleged to have made the recordings on buses and trains and in supermarkets. (Supplied.)<\/p>\n
Judge Wendy Gillan warned jurors the videos may be “confronting” and she would be closing the court to protect the identities of those filmed.<\/p>\n
Mr McGovern has pleaded not guilty to 41 charges, including several counts of doing an indecent act in public, indecently recording a child over 13 and under 16, and one count of indecently recording a child under 13.<\/p>\n
The offences allegedly occurred from September through to December in 2022 across the Perth metropolitan area.<\/p>\n
Artist ‘just capturing scene’<\/p>\n
Defence lawyer Anthony Elliott said his client was a novelist and an artist, and he made recordings to capture dialogue, while also “looking for things to sketch and practice on”.<\/p>\n
Mr Elliott held up sketches, including one of a dancing woman and another of three women standing together.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Adam McGovern is facing dozens of charges of indecently recording women and girls using his phone. (ABC News: Berge Breiland)<\/p>\n
He suggested Mr McGovern was unaware of what was captured on some recordings.<\/p>\n
“It was secret to him as well because he didn’t know what he was recording,” Mr Elliott told the jury.<\/p>\n
“Is the recording a recording that was indecent?<\/p>\n
“Or was it a happenstance intrusion into the scene?<\/p>\n
“Was it dumb bad luck that something has gone on the video that was not intended?”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Lawyer Anthony Elliott suggested his client was an artist “just capturing the world around him”. (ABC News: David Weber)<\/p>\n
Mr McGovern was “just capturing the world around him”, Mr Elliott said.<\/p>\n
Portions of some of the videos were played to the jury, including one in a supermarket, and another at Scarborough Beach, where no indecent material could be seen.<\/p>\n
He said the jury would have to make decisions about the purpose of the full recordings.<\/p>\n
The trial is expected to last eight days.<\/p>\n
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