Former Orange County teacher gets 17 years for hiding cameras in student restrooms
A former high school teacher in Orange County has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison and a lifetime on supervised release for secretly installing hidden cameras in the school’s restrooms and possessing hundreds of images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including of children under the age of 12, officials announced Tuesday.
Prosecutors say 38-year-old Siu Kong Sit, a resident of Rowland Heights, who formerly taught at Beckman High School in Irvine, pleaded guilty on March 29 to one count of possession of child pornography.
Beginning in at least February 2020, Sit started installing hidden cameras in restrooms at the high school in Irvine and would regularly review the footage and download the videos that were of interest to him, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Central District of California Office.
While serving as the school’s robotics team coach in May 2020, Sit employed the same tactics in a hotel restroom where students on the team were staying during a tournament in Texas.
“From 2020 to 2023, Sit viewed and downloaded hundreds of images of children and adults, in various states of undress, using restrooms,” the release noted.
By February 2023, when the cameras had been discovered, law enforcement confiscated several digital devices from the 38-year-old’s home, along with two external storage drives from the cameras installed at Beckman High School.
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“A forensic review of the various digital devices identified dozens of images and videos of child pornography, including images and videos that Sit had recorded himself of children using restrooms in various states of undress,” prosecutors said. “The victims that Sit recorded without their consent were under the age of 18, and some of the victims were under the age of 12.”
On one hard drive alone, authorities discovered at least 22 images and one video of CSAM, including images “depicting a toddler engaged in sexual activity.” On a separate drive, another 150 images and four videos were found.
In his plea agreement, the 38-year-old admitted to knowingly possessing images and videos of minors under the age of 12 engaging in sexual conduct.
“This defendant was every parent’s nightmare – rather than care for the safety and well-being of students, he exploited them in the most abhorrent way,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada.
Sit is also facing criminal charges pursued by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office for the adult victims filmed by the hidden cameras.
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