Building manager who spied on residents with planted cameras jailed

The manager of a Pyrmont unit block has been jailed for at least a year after planting cameras to spy on residents.

James Maxwell, 49, pleaded guilty after compiling 90 recordings of about a dozen men and women showering, and in other private acts.

The cameras were placed in a bedroom and bathroom,s and he watched the vision on his mobile phone.

One of the cameras, in a clock, was pointed towards the bed of his housemate Anton Steinbrewner.

Mr Steinbrewner told 9News at the time he was shocked at the behaviour of his old friend.

“Disgusting, especially as I was considering him my friend," he said.

Today, Maxwell’s lawyer told the court he was on Facebook when an ad came up for a spy camera.

“That is where he first got the idea to do this," she said.

But she said his remorse is so extreme he quit his job as an air steward at a major airline despite their offer of professional counselling.

“His words to me were, 'I’ve done something wrong, I should be punished',” she said.

Magistrate Kate Thompson agreed jail was the only option, handing him a maximum of 28 months behind bars.

“The victims were oblivious that their most intimate moments and lives were being recorded," she said.

“There are few places where a person is more vulnerable than in their own home.”