Former Teacher and Robotics Team Coach Sentenced For Secretly Recording Minors in Bathrooms

California: A former teacher and robotics coach from California has been sentenced to more than 17 years in federal prison after being convicted of secretly recording minors in school bathrooms for nearly three years. Siu Kong Sit, 38, was handed a 210-month sentence for possessing child sexual abuse material, a case that has shocked the community.

Hidden Cameras and Betrayed Trust

Siu Kong Sit, who worked as a teacher at Beckman High School, began his criminal activities in February 2020, when he secretly installed recording devices in restrooms around the school campus. As a trusted educator and robotics team coach, Sit used his position to access spaces where students felt safe. According to federal prosecutors, Sit regularly reviewed and downloaded the videos captured by these cameras, violating the privacy of numerous students.

In May 2022, while attending a tournament in Texas as the robotics coach, Sit took his crimes to another 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 the school grounds. Sit’s crimes went unnoticed for nearly three years until February 2023, when a maintenance worker at Beckman High discovered the recording devices in a restroom near the school’s pool. This discovery led to Sit’s arrest, and police quickly launched a detailed investigation into the full scope of his offenses.

Arrest and Discovery of Evidence

When authorities arrested Sit, they seized multiple digital devices, including external storage drives used with the hidden cameras. The forensic analysis of these devices uncovered dozens of images and videos of children, many of whom were in various states of undress. Some of Sit’s victims were reportedly under the age of 12. In addition to the footage taken at the high school and the Texas tournament, investigators found at least 22 photos and a video showing 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 showing a toddler engaged in sexual acts. The arrest of Sit in February 2023 put an end to his years-long campaign of secretly recording minors, and his subsequent conviction exposed the breadth of his criminal behavior.

Sentencing and Future Legal Actions

On September 10, 2023, a federal judge sentenced Sit to 210 months in prison for his crimes. He will also face lifetime supervised release following his sentence and will be required to attend a restitution hearing in November, where victims could receive compensation.

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