Former robotics teacher and coach convicted of secretly recording minors in toilets – The Published Reporter

California: A former California teacher and robotics coach has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison after secretly recording minors in school bathrooms for nearly three years. Siu Kong Sit, 38, was sentenced to 210 months in prison for possessing child pornography in a case that shocked the community.

Hidden cameras and betrayed trust

Siu Kong Sit, a teacher at Beckman High School, began his criminal activities in February 2020, when he secretly installed recording devices in restrooms on the school’s campus. A trusted teacher and coach of the school’s robotics team, Sit used his position to gain access to spaces where students felt safe. According to federal prosecutors, Sit regularly viewed and downloaded videos captured by these cameras, violating the privacy of countless students.

In May 2022, while attending a robotics tournament in Texas as a coach, Sit took his crimes to the next level by installing a hidden camera in a bathroom at the hotel where the students were staying. This disturbing escalation expanded his pattern of exploitation beyond school grounds. Sit’s crimes went unnoticed for nearly three years until February 2023, when a maintenance worker at Beckman High discovered the recording device in a restroom near the school’s pool. The discovery led to Sit’s arrest, and police quickly launched a detailed investigation into the full extent of his crimes.

Arrest and discovery of evidence

When authorities arrested Sit, they seized multiple digital devices, including external storage drives used with the hidden cameras. Forensic analysis of these devices revealed dozens of images and videos of children, many in various stages of undress. Some of Sit’s victims were reportedly under the age of 12. In addition to the images taken at the high school and the tournament in Texas, investigators found at least 22 photos and one video depicting child sexual abuse on one hard drive, and more than 150 images and several videos on another. One particularly disturbing piece of evidence involved a video that showed a toddler performing sexual acts. Sit’s arrest in February 2023 ended his years-long campaign of secretly recording minors, and his subsequent conviction laid bare the breadth of his criminal behavior.

Convictions and Future Legal Action

On September 10, 2023, a federal judge sentenced Sit to 210 months in prison for his crimes. He will also serve lifelong supervised release following his conviction and will have to attend a reparations hearing in November, where victims can receive compensation.

While the federal case focused on the minor victims, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is expected to file charges involving the adult victims who were also captured on Sit’s hidden cameras. The state charges against the minors were dismissed in order to allow the federal case to proceed uninterrupted.