A North Vancouver man who surreptitiously took photographs up women's dresses with a camera hidden in a grocery store basket has been ordered to get counselling but will not have a criminal record.
Kee Toy Joseph, 35, was handed a conditional discharge Friday and put on 18 months probation after pleading guilty to surreptitiously shooting video footage of women without their knowledge.
The candid camera action happened on two occasions - Aug. 25 and Sept. 7, 2012 - at the North Vancouver Superstore, when Joseph's activities were spotted by a security guard.
Crown counsel Frances Gordon said on the first day, a store security guard watched Joseph looking at various women in the grocery store who were wearing dresses. In several cases, Joseph put his grocery basket down on the floor near the women's legs, in a seemingly deliberate placement, as the security guard watched. Joseph repeated the same pattern in several departments, including the bakery, seafood counter, meat department and grocery aisles.
The security guard was suspicious but wasn't able to stop Joseph before he left the parking lot.
But the same security guard spotted Joseph up to the same tricks in the store again on Sept. 7. This time, the guard could clearly see a camera lens had been hidden in the grocery basket. Police were called and Joseph immediately confessed to his activities, saying he didn't know why he had done it.
Gordon asked for a suspended sentence, noting the "invasion of privacy" involved for strangers who were minding their own business in the store.
Joseph's defence lawyer Matthew Nathanson argued for leniency, noting Joseph has no criminal record and has suffered several traumatic events in recent years - including the murders of both his father and uncle - which a psychiatrist said had likely caused him to act out of character.
Nathanson said Joseph has expressed "shame and surprise" at his own behaviour.
Judge Joanne Challenger agreed to give Joseph a discharge, saying his background was
one of "extraordinary pain and loss," adding it wouldn't be in the public interest to burden him with a criminal record.
While on probation, Joseph must stay away from any Real Canadian Superstore and is banned from using any digital recording device in a public retail store. He was also ordered to get counselling and perform 25 hours of community work service.
Challenger also ordered the footage from Joseph's secret camera destroyed.
Gordon said none of the women who were filmed were aware of what had happened.
