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A teacher who covertly filmed his teenage daughter and foreign exchange students taking a shower at his home has been jailed in a landmark case.
Francis Stephen Glenski, a former employee of Avondale College in Auckland, was sentenced to 16 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of making objectionable material, and one count of possessing objectionable images on his computer.
In his sentencing at the Auckland District Court on Friday, Judge Roderick Joyce said the offending was premeditated and a "gross and grave" breach of trust between father and daughter.
Glenski's eldest daughter is severely disabled and he claimed the camera was installed in the shower to monitor her.
But Joyce labelled his defence as "self-serving", "ridiculous", "facile" and "nonsense" and said it failed to explain why the webcam footage was hidden in a computer.
The still photographs found were not of the disabled daughter, but of her younger sister, and foreign exchange students from Japan.
"Why keep them? The images were there to satisfy his own particular sexual needs," said Joyce.
He rejected the possibility of home detention and imposed 16 months in jail.
"Anything less would send the wrong message to Mr Glenski and the public. I would be failing in my duty to fit the punishment to the crime."
Crown prosecutor Scott McColgan said there were no previous New Zealand cases similar in offending to Glenski's, so the sentence set a new precedent.
Police raided the teacher's home in March after being alerted by Avondale College principal Brent Lewis.
A colleague who was fixing Glenski's laptop had found a file with hundreds of images and films of under-age girls and stored the pornography on a memory card, which was then given to Lewis.
Nine of the films were shot last year through a hidden grille and showed two Asian exchange students and his daughter taking a shower.
A photograph of a neighbour's young daughter, sitting on a trampoline with her privates exposed, was also found.
Detectives found the bathroom at the North Shore address matched the one in the footage, as did the trampoline.
After the police raid, Glenski's children were taken into Child, Youth and Family care and are now with their mother in the United States.
Victim impact statements submitted by the daughter and her mother were read out in court.
The family has been torn apart, the children in particular with trust issues. "They feel the shame of his shameful actions. They are the ones who carry the burden of this shame, shame of being his children, shame of his being their father, shame at it being their friends, these other girls and children were victimised," Glenski's ex-wife wrote.
In an earlier interview, Glenski told the Herald on Sunday he was "extremely remorseful" about the impact of his action on his children, former partner and Avondale College.
Outside court, Detective Steve Waugh said he was pleased that Glenski would be imprisoned and the sentence sent a warning to future offenders.
"At the end of the day, a man who does this sort of thing should serve time rather than home detention," said Waugh.
