A former Charles Darwin University professor has pleaded guilty to secretly filming one of his students naked in the shower.
Michael John Lawes, 54, today appeared in the Darwin Local Court, charged with one count of installing, using and maintaining an optical surveillance device.
The court heard the 28-year-old female victim, who was from interstate, had been staying in Lawes's granny flat while doing research in Darwin in February.
The woman was having a shower when she noticed a small camera hidden inside a smoke alarm.
She alerted police and Lawes was subsequently arrested.
"He used trickery to lure her into that vulnerable state," prosecutor Tiarni McNamee told Judge Greg Macdonald in court.
Ms McNamee said the offending was about self-gratification and had sexual overtones.
She said it was a breach of trust between teacher and student: "It's a significant invasion of her privacy. She was at that time vulnerable in a state of undress."
Lawes 'only stopped filming when caught'
She said it was not the only occasion on which Lawes filmed the woman, and that he only stopped because she had discovered the hidden device.
"It's had a significant effect on the victim emotionally, physically and professionally," Ms McNamee said.
Lawes, a professor of wildlife science, could face a maximum penalty of two years in jail, or a $38,000 fine.
Lawes's defence lawyer Jodi Truman accepted that it was a serious matter that had left the victim feeling "extremely humiliated, violated and distressed".
Hormone imbalances to blame: defence
But Ms Truman urged Judge Macdonald to take into account Lawes's "confused" and "irrational" state of mind at the time of his offending.
She told the court he was affected by mental health issues and hormone imbalances when he made a "very serious mistake".
"This was an aberration to his usually exemplary character."
She said the camera used in the offending had originally been purchased to film a possum in the roof of his property.
Ms Truman said Lawes had resigned from his job at Charles Darwin University and that his professional reputation was ruined.
Lawes will be sentenced on Tuesday next week.
