A naval commodore who served as New Zealand's senior military attache to the United States has been found guilty of planting a hidden camera in a bathroom at the embassy in Washington.

A jury in the Auckland District Court deliberated for 4 1/2 hours on Thursday before finding Commodore Alfred Harold Keating guilty on a charge of attempting to make an intimate visual recording. He will be sentenced on June 25 and faces the possibility of up to three years in jail.

Judge Robert Ronayne told the jury there was no dispute that a camera was hidden in the embassy bathroom.

Keating resigned from the defense force after pleading not guilty in March, ending a 40-year career during which he became one of New Zealand's most senior naval officers.