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Voyeur receives 30-month suspended sentence |
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Written by
Citizen staff
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Tuesday, 02 December 2008 |
An electrician who installed a video camera in a hole in the ceiling of the women staff's washroom at the Prince George Airport last year received a suspended sentence with 30 months of probation Tuesday.
Ronald Arthur Ballard, 51, now a resident of Williams Lake, pleaded guilty at the earliest opportunity after being discovered on May 29, 2007, and arrested by police soon after, his defence lawyer said.
Ballard always co-operated with police and never entered a not-guilty plea, said Keith Aartsen, defence counsel.
The proposal for the suspended sentence was a joint submission of the Crown and the defence.
The offence to which Ballard pleaded guilty is commonly referred to as voyeurism, said Prince George provincial court judge Michael Brecknell. It is also listed in court records as the Criminal Code offence "secretly observing or recording nudity in a private place," where a person has a reasonable expectation of privacy.
Ballard had been placing a video camera in the hole in the ceiling over the women's washroom for airport staff for four to six months before being discovered, said Crown counsel Geoffrey McDonald.
Then in late May a staff member went to the washroom and noticed a lens in the hole in the ceiling that was directed down to her. She reported the problem and Ballard was arrested, court heard. He cooperated with police and deleted the images he'd obtained with the video camera, McDonald said.
Although the washroom was for staff, it was also accessible to the public. However, it was adult women Ballard was viewing, not minors, court heard.
Ballard had no record prior to the offence, Crown counsel said.
McDonald handed up to the judge photos of the hole in the ceiling, the video camera and other equipment Ballard had used in the offence.
Probation conditions include requirements to report regularly to a probation officer and to remain in B.C. unless a probation officer gives prior permission to travel out of province.
Judge Brecknell issued a no-contact order in respect of the woman who made the complaint about the ceiling video camera. The only exception is the letter of apology he must write to her in the near future.
The judge also banned Ballard from owning any camera, recording device or device capable of recording and storing video images, except for a computer in his home that his wife, but not he, may use only in connection with his business.
Ballard may not be found in any women's washroom or unisex washroom. In public buildings he may use only washrooms dedicated to men exclusively.
Judge Brecknell ordered Ballard to continue undergoing counselling with his psychologist and to take any further counselling or treatment that his probation officer may recommend in consultation with the psychologist.
Ballard must write a letter of apology to all female staff at the Prince George airport by Jan. 31. This letter will be posted in the women's washroom for 15 days for all who care to read it.
The terms of probation order may be reviewed after 18 months, the judge said.
The publicity around Ballard's offence has affected his career and also led to his being expelled from his congregation with the Jehovah's Witnesses. He is working toward being reinstated, the judge said.
His wife, loyal to the wedding vow of "for better or worse," has stayed by his side, Brecknell said. Ballard is greatly shamed by what he has done, and experiences much anguish, the judge noted. However, such embarassment can sometimes be a good thing, Brecknell continued. "It reminds us there are some norms of our society that must be adhered to," he said.
Ballard has taken whatever steps have been recommended, such as counselling, to deal with his unusual proclivity, the judge said.
What Ballard did was a criminal offence, and the public has a right to be concerned about such invasions of privacy for legitimate reasons, Brecknell said. "We don't want our privacy invaded," he observed. However, there is also unfortunately an element of titillation that some members of the public get out of following such cases, the judge said.
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Last Updated ( Tuesday, 02 December 2008 )
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