KITCHENER — A massage therapist secretly videotaped 259 clients — including at least two underage girls — dressing and undressing in his clinic over a period of eight years.

James Ward, 34, of Kitchener, pleaded guilty Wednesday in a Kitchener courtroom to two counts of voyeurism and two counts of creating child pornography.

The child pornography charges relate to his surreptitious videotaping of two clients, aged 16 and 17. Both clients had filled out medical forms before receiving treatment that indicated their age, court heard.

Ward had installed two pinhole cameras in plastic coat hooks in a treatment room at Queen Street Wellness, a massage therapy clinic he owned and ran at 429 Queen St. S. in Kitchener, according to a summary of facts read out in court. He had also concealed a web camera behind a wicker partition in the room.

Ward used the cameras to secretly record his clients dressing and undressing, as well as receiving massage therapy. The videos were stored on an external hard drive and on his computer.

A client who was at the clinic in June to get a back massage noticed what she thought was a camera behind the wicker partition as she was getting dressed after her massage. She took a photograph of the camera with her mobile phone, and went to the police.

Police obtained a search warrant and searched the clinic that same day, seizing a variety of electronic and computer equipment, the three cameras as well as medical records they later used to contact potential victims.

Police discovered more than 1,000 recordings of 259 different female clients. Many of the recordings were classified in folders labelled with specific women's names, with descriptors such as "naked," "good," "great" and even "preggo" for videos of a pregnant client.

The videos were shot as far back as March 2008, less than two years after he became a massage therapist, and included footage up to the date in June 2016 when police first learned of the hidden cameras.

Police spoke with more than 100 former and current clients as part of their investigation. Clients confirmed that they had no knowledge they were being recorded and had not given their consent to being videotaped. The identities of the complainants whose names were read out in court are protected by a court order.

Ward, who said little during the proceedings other than the word "guilty," was clean-cut and wore a dark suit and tie. He has been free on bail since his arrest, but must comply with several conditions including not practising massage therapy, contacting former clients, or possessing equipment that could be used to take or store photos or other digital images.

The maximum sentence for voyeurism is five years. Ward is to be sentenced Jan. 27 at a hearing that will also consider victim impact statements. Complainants can still contact police if they wish to contribute a victim impact statement.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

The College of Massage Therapists of Ontario, which certifies all massage therapists who practise in the province, began its own investigation into the case when it learned of Ward's arrest.

"Our investigation is not yet complete as we are awaiting the outcome of the penalty phase of the criminal process," Angie Brennand, the college's director of communications, said in an email. "And in the meantime Mr. Ward's bail conditions continue to apply so he continues to be unable to practise massage therapy."