A man used mirrors and mobile phones to spy on naked children in a Co Donegal leisure centre.
Louis Nugent, 67, appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court after being caught by the father of two young girls.
The former carpenter and taxi driver, who is a father-of-eight, was caught carrying out the acts on a number of occasions.
Nugent’s actions only came to light when two young girls – aged 12 and 14 – refused to go to swimming lessons at the Aura Leisure Center in Letterkenny after they became his victims.
Detective Garda Stephen Moyles said the sisters were in a changing cubicle on November 15, 2017, when the younger girl noticed a mobile phone appear beneath the partition with the adjacent cubicle.
The girl believed she and her sister were being recorded and saw a man lying on the floor in the next cubicle. The other girl, who climbed onto the seat, said a man was “hunched over and flicking through his phone”.
They did not initially tell their parents but the following week they refused to go swimming and told their father what had happened.
Their father decided to monitor Nugent in the changing rooms in a communal area.
The man, who cannot be named to protect the victims, saw Nugent remove someone else’s clothing from a cubicle next to another which was being used by a mother and a young girl of about six years.
He then saw Nugent lying sideways on the floor with a mobile phone in one hand and a circular mirror in the other.
Nugent was observed hiding the phone and mirror with a towel. He was seen placing two mirrors and two phones in a locker and returning to the pool area.
The man saw Nugent smile at another young girl, estimated to be six or seven. The young girl went to a shower cubicle with the door open.
Detective Garda Moyles said the witness observed Nugent engage in “an act clearly described as masturbation”.
On another occasion, he was witnessed lying on the floor of a cubicle masturbating while filming another young girl showering.
The witness saw Nugent remove a mirror which was concealed behind the toilet bowl.
The man finally confronted Nugent and escorted him off the premises but Nugent whispered to him: “You’ll never f***ing catch me.”
The man informed staff and gardaí, who viewed CCTV footage and identified the accused.
A further search of the building revealed a number of other mirrors allegedly hidden by Nugent in other parts of the changing rooms.
Before he could be arrested, however, Nugent fled to Scotland but was later arrested and brought back to Ireland on a European Arrest Warrant. He has been in Castlerea Prison on these charges since October 7, 2021.
Nugent, with an address at Killyclug, Letterkenny, pleaded guilty to engaging in an act of masturbation in a public place, the Aura Leisure Centre, on November 21, 2017.
He also pleaded guilty to three counts of intentionally engaging in offensive behavior of a sexual nature at Aura Leisure Center on November 15, 2017, and November 21, 2017.
He also pleaded guilty to intentionally engaging in offensive behavior of a sexual nature on November 22, 2017, on an occasion other than that referred to at the Aura Leisure Center
His barrister Sean McGee said his client could not explain why he carried out such acts, saying he had no previous convictions.
Since the matters came to light, he has lost his marriage and has had limited contact with his children.
The only place he can seek shelter is his mother’s home in Glasgow, he added.
“He has been completely isolated since,” Mr. McGee said.
“He is not in a position to offer an explanation other than this was something that he fell into. He is at a loss to offer an explanation. He simply doesn’t understand why he fell into this type of behavior.”
Mr McGee said Nugent wished to apologize to his victims.
Judge John Aylmer remanded him in custody until November 2, 2022, when he will be sentenced.
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