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From: Morpheus <Morpheus@dreamland.com>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.prettyboy
Subject: Aussie dodges jail time
Date: 23 Oct 2009 13:24:01 -0500
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From the Courier Mail
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,26232570-952,00.html
Jeremy Pierce
October 19, 2009 11:00pm
A MAN who established a sophisticated network of peepholes and cameras to spy
on his flatmates has escaped a jail sentence after police were unable to
crack an encryption code on his home computer.
Rohan James Wyllie, 39, yesterday pleaded guilty in Southport District Court
to charges of attempting to visually record one of his flatmates when she was
in a private place without her consent.
But police were unable to prove his elaborate surveillance system had
actually been used.
Wyllie's three flatmates, two women and a man, grew suspicious that he was up
to something when they noticed lights shining through holes in dark rooms and
buzzing electronic noises before eventually calling the police in August
2007.
They found a series of holes drilled in to walls and ceilings throughout the
Surfers Paradise apartment with wires leading back to Wyllie's bedroom.
Police seized his personal computer, but files were encrypted and a video
camera was not plugged in.
Defence barrister Michael Byrne said Wyllie had been suffering from
schizophrenia and was convinced his flatmates were conspiring against him.
"This was not to realise a sexual fantasy, but rather as a result of a
persecution complex," he said. "He thought they (flatmates) were colluding
with officials to construct a case against him."
He also said Wyllie had abandoned the plan when he learnt his male flatmate
had served time in jail for assault. Judge Brian Devereaux said Wyllie's
actions were "a terrible invasion of privacy".
In passing sentence, Judge Devereaux took in to account the 33 days Wyllie
had spent in custody after being arrested and ordered that two years'
probation was sufficient punishment, given that there was no hard evidence
proving he had secretly recorded his flatmates.
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