Rejected army ‘Peeping Tom’ admits watching and filming naked women aged 15 to 49 through windows and curtain vents in their homes
- John William Goodwin pleaded guilty to 20 charges
- In 2014, he admitted to shooting naked women 125 times
- Most of the footage was shot while peering through windows
- On some days he went to more than one house to watch and film
- Goodwin visited the house where a 15-year-old girl lived six times
A 51-year-old “peek” who viewed and filmed women through windows was behind bars for dozens of similar offenses after being rejected by the military.
John William Goodwin pleaded guilty in Brisbane court on Friday to more than 20 charges of making observations or recordings in breach of privacy and one charge of possession of child exploitation material.
In 2014, he admitted to 125 privacy-violating recordings between December 2005 and February 2010, and pleaded guilty to charges including burglary, assault, indecent treatment of a child, and making child exploitation material.
Most of the footage was shot peering through windows and slits in blinds and curtains of the 38 homes he visited, but in some cases he broke into the house, according to court documents.
He sexually assaulted some women and filmed himself masturbating in bedrooms while women slept.
John William Goodwin pleaded guilty to more than 20 charges of making observations or recordings between December 2005 and February 2010
A total of 59 complainants were identified, while five remained unknown.
Goodwin came to the attention of the police when he posted a folder of photos he had taken of an eight-year-old girl to a Russian website.
He spent years behind bars for those offenses before being paroled on Christmas Eve 2019.
But police found images and about 186 videos of a “Peeping Tom nature” on his phone in July 2021, prosecutor Dejana Kovac said Friday.
They showed 12 women aged between 15 and 49, some wholly or partially naked, at their homes in Carina, a Brisbane suburb where Goodwin lived, and Camp Hill.
The video footage was taken through windows at night in February and March 2021.
Some days he went to more than one house, made recordings or just observed people who violated their privacy.
Goodwin visited the home where the 15-year-old girl lived six times while shooting more than 50 videos on two days in February of five women, including one who was heavily pregnant, showering and dressing.
The women felt significantly violated by Goodwin’s actions, Ms Kovac told the court.
“His insult, in my opinion, was premeditated, predatory and aimed at the privacy and safety of the complainants in their own homes or homes of others they trusted.”
Goodwin had been released on parole for a short time following his previous prison sentence, his lawyer Sarah Cartledge told the court.
He was unable to get a job because of his previous conviction, lived in a share house, and had no support when his parole expired.
“There was … a lack of anything to keep him basically occupied … (and) he struggled to get back to community life, which is unfortunately a contributing factor to getting back into this type of offense,” Ms Cartledge said.
Most of the footage was shot peering through windows and holes in blinds and curtains of the 38 homes he visited, but in some cases he broke into, according to court documents
Goodwin witnessed acts of violence against family members during a traumatic and abusive childhood, according to court documents related to his previous convictions.
“The sentencing judge noted… that most of the offenses occurred during periods of unemployment, when the respondent became addicted to viewing and collecting Internet pornography.”
Judge Deborah Richards adjourned the sentence to July 7 and ordered a pre-sentence report, including a psychiatric evaluation, to be completed within 28 days.
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