A nurse who admitted to hiding a camera in a staff gym shower at the University of Alberta hospital was scheduled to be sentenced Monday, but the case was put over to a later date.
Jason Soundara, 26, pleaded guilty to two counts of voyeurism in June.
In November 2016, a notice was posted by management of The Pulse Generator at the University of Alberta Hospital Employee Fitness and Recreation Centre, stating a camera was in place from Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. until Nov. 28 at 9 a.m., when it was discovered and removed.
READ MORE: Hidden camera in U of A Hospital gym shower records 7 men, 1 person arrested: memo
In that 16-hour window, seven men were captured on the camera.
In an agreed statement of facts, Soundara admitted to putting the camera in the male locker room shower. In a videotaped interview with police, Soundara said he did it “because he liked one of the males who frequently showers in the facility.”
The statement said the camera installed looked like a wall outlet and was stuck to the wall underneath a soap dispenser; it contained a five-day rechargeable battery with a SD card to store video.
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The camera was discovered by a man in the shower; it was turned over to hospital security and then Edmonton police.
READ MORE: Male nurse admits to installing hidden camera in U of A Hospital gym shower
Police found pictures of seven men on the SD card, the first of which was the accused “wearing his hospital scrub, and attaching the outlet to the wall. The accused can be seen looking directly into the camera, removing tape from his breast pocket, walking back to the camera and placing a strip of tape on the camera.”
Soundara was identified from the video by the human resources manager at the hospital.
Soundara worked as a nurse at the hospital emergency room at the time. An Alberta Health Services spokesperson said he is no longer an AHS employee.
Pulse Generator operates employee fitness centres at the U of A, Grey Nuns and Misericordia hospitals. Security measures were increased after the incident.
– With files from Julia Wong, Global News
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