By Patrick Burles - @PatrickBurles on Twitter

Hong Kong man sentenced after admitting to voyeurism, child porn charges

Oct 18, 2018 | 5:47 PM

LETHBRIDGE – A 19-year-old Hong Kong national has been handed a one-year jail sentence, after admitting that he recorded people – including children – using the men’s change room at the University of Lethbridge swimming pool.

Lap Kwan Yue pleaded guilty to charges of voyeurism and possession of child pornography Thursday afternoon, Oct. 18 in Lethbridge Provincial Court.

Yue has been in Canada on a student visa since 2014, attending high school in Three Hills, Alberta before enrolling at the U of L. While that visa doesn’t expire until 2021, it is anticipated that he will be deported after completing his time in custody.

Special prosecutor Carolyn Ayre had recommended a term of 15 months in jail, however, Judge Patrick McIlhargey decided to go with the defence suggestion of one year – the mandatory minimum penalty for possession of child porn – citing Yue’s age as the biggest factor in his decision. In addition to the jail time, Yue has also been added to the sex offender registry for the next 20 years.

Reading over the facts of the case, Ayre told the court that on March 16 of this year, a security manager at the university contacted an ALERT member with the Lethbridge Police Service (LPS), informing them of a complaint they received of a suspicious male hanging out in the men’s change room while a swimming team was using it. An investigation revealed numerous swimmers had noticed the man walking through the change room on numerous occasions, either holding his phone in a suspicious way or with it sticking out of his pocket.

Week-in-review: Federal Budget, water agreements and success for tourism industry

Apr 20, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this weekend: April 19, 2024

Apr 19, 2024

What's Happening in Lethbridge this week: April 15, 2024

Apr 15, 2024

After identifying Yue by his student access card and CCTV footage, a member ALERT attended the change room on March 22, where he noticed Yue. The officer observed Yue pacing the room, moving his gym bag around as he did so and looking at people near him.

The officer identified himself, and after taking the conversation to another room, asked Yue if he was recording people in the change room, to which Yue replied, “Yes, but I was only sending [the images] to my girlfriend in Hong Kong.” He was then taken into custody.

During an interview with police, Yue admitted that he recorded the images and videos, so he could later pleasure himself. He also told officers that he believed he had recorded in the change room about 50 times, but said he never shared the material.

A search of seven electronic devices belonging to Yue turned up offending material on six of them. In total, he had 1,291 images and videos identified as voyeurism and 166 that were child pornography. Ayre estimated the youngest children observed in the material were between the ages of 8-10. As for the content, she said it included men and boys in various states of undress while changing, showering, and using the washroom. She added that hundreds of people were observed “at a time they’re expecting their dignity to be preserved.”

Along with the change room material from the U of L, Ayre said they found similar images from a swimming pool in China.

Yue’s lawyer, David Cavilla, told the court that his client has been on his own in Canada since arriving in 2014, as his entire family remains in Hong Kong. He pointed out that Yue fully cooperated with police and has been very restricted in what he can do since being charged, as he was ejected by the university and could not work in Canada under his student visa.

When given a chance to address the court himself, Yue said, “I just want to say sorry.”