Former top New Zealand military officer accused of installing secret camera inside vent in unisex embassy bathroom

May 4, 2018

Alfred Keating, a former Navy Commodore, is accused of planting a hidden camera in unisex toilets.

A former Commodore in the New Zealand Defence Force stands accused of installing a covert camera to film people using the toilet inside the New Zealand Embassy in Washington DC.

Commodore Alfred Keating, 58, had appealed for suppression of his name to continue, but Judge Powell today ruled in the High Court that his details can now be revealed.

Keating is accused of installing a small covert video camera inside a heating duct in the unisex bathroom at the NZ Embassy, and court documents say there was evidence to show it had been there for "several months".

He has pleaded not guilty to a charge of attempting to make an intimate visual recording.

The camera was discovered about 1.30pm local time on July 27 in 2017, when it fell on to the floor of the bathroom, and sent back to New Zealand for analysis.

The camera had been mounted on a home-made platform, and a total of 19 images had been captured of people using the bathroom, but only images of people wearing clothes.

Keating's DNA was allegedly found on the SD card inside the camera and software was found on his computer which related to the model of camera used.

After he was first accused, he resigned from his post as one of New Zealand's most senior military personnel.

Keating was New Zealand's foremost representative to the US, and the face of New Zealand in all dealings between the NZDF and the US military.

He also commanded the Devonport navy base before being sent to the US.

Keating will face a trial by jury.

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