Caregiver sentenced after taking secret photos of elderly client in shower

The caregiver appeared in the Porirua District Court this morning and was sentenced for the "significant breach of trust". Photo / File

A caregiver who took secret photos of his elderly male client in the shower claims his actions were not sexually motivated, but done out of anger.

Bryan Liu Kuey was working for Enliven Community Support over 2014 to 2015 as an in-home caregiver for elderly men, the Porirua District Court heard today.

The 46-year-old appeared in court charged with making an intimate visual recording, which he pleaded guilty to.

He had numerous tasks in his caregiver work, which included cleaning, helping to move the clients around their homes, bathing them, and showering them.

Between July and August 2015, Liu Kuey took three photos on his cellphone of one of his clients naked in the shower. The photographs all showed the man from behind and showed his buttocks and back, but not his head or face, the summary of facts said.

In October 2015 police executed a search warrant and seized the cellphone. During a police interview, Liu Kuey denied taking or having any such photographs, even after he was informed the digital forensics unit would be able to recover deleted pictures.

The unit later found the three photos, which had been previously deleted.

It was not until May this year that Liu Kuey was interviewed by police again and admitted taking the photos.

He said they were all of the same client. He had taken the photos on two separate occasions while assisting the victim in the shower.

The photos were taken without the victim's knowledge or consent.

Information on how police came to know about the photos was not available to the court.

A probation officer said she had spoken to Liu Kuey and he told her he did not take the photos for a sexual reason.

She said he was currently going through an anger management course, as it was anger that caused him to take the pictures. She did not provide further details.

Judge Kelly said the offending was "a significant breach of trust".

"I'm just not convinced about what he's told you," she said to the probation officer.

She sentenced Liu Kuey to six months of supervision with special conditions to attend and complete any programmes chosen for him by probation services.