Guilty verdict in embassy camera case

AUCKLAND: New Zealand’s former top military attache to the United States has been found guilty of planting a hidden camera in a bathroom at our embassy in Washington.

Alfred (Fred) Keating’s nearly twoweek trial in the Auckland District Court came to a close on Thursday afternoon.

The 12 jurors had found the former Assistant Chief of Navy was the man who planted a covert camera in a unisex bathroom at New Zealand’s embassy in Washington DC.

Keating, who held the high rank of commodore, was the senior defence attache to the US during July 2017, when he attempted to make an intimate visual recording of another person.

The former commander of the Devonport Naval Base now faces up to 18 months’ imprisonment. He will be sentenced later this year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, which is responsible for New Zealand’s embassies, declined to answer questions about the investigation and embassy security.

‘‘We will not be discussing publicly the support offered to staff on this case other than to say the welfare and privacy of staff have been at the forefront of our considerations,’’ a spokesperson for the ministry said.

‘‘The ministry does not discuss security matters in relation to New Zealand embassies.’’

The New Zealand Defence Force also would not comment, and distanced itself from Keating after the verdict, which was delivered just after 2pm.

‘‘Mr Keating is no longer a member of the New Zealand Defence Force. His appointment ended as scheduled on March 31 last year. As this matter remains before the courts, it would not be appropriate to comment further,’’ a spokesperson said.

Inspector Darryl Sweeney, of the New Zealand Police, thanked those who had assisted with the investigation, but said he would not be making any comment until Keating’s sentencing.

Keating’s jury sat through a trial which at times has been held behind locked doors for national security reasons.

Early in the trial, Judge Robert Ronayne warned the jurors about some of the evidence they would hear.

He said it was ‘‘terribly important’’ that no classified material or court documents were taken home by jurors, and nothing was discussed outside the jury room.

A secret witness’ identity was also suppressed by the judge for national security reasons.

On Wednesday, Crown prosecutor Henry Steele asked the jury to consider if Keating was ‘‘absurdly unlucky’’ and the victim of unfortunate coincidence or was he ‘‘the bloke who put the camera in the toilet’’?

Steele’s case against the 59yearold has largely relied on the recovered internet activity on Keating’s laptop, the naval officer’s DNA profile being found on the hidden camera’s SD card, CCTV footage and swipe card records from the embassy.

Keating’s defence lawyer Ron Mansfield, however, criticised the methods used to test for DNA.

Mansfield also said on Wednesday the police and embassy’s investigation after the camera was discovered on July 27, 2017, was ‘‘inept and incomplete’’.

He said the DNA evidence on the camera and memory card had been contaminated after several embassy staffers handled the device after it was found.

Keating’s more than 40year Defence Force career came to an end when he resigned just two days after he pleaded not guilty last March. — NZME