Doctor charged with filming naked pool patrons wins three-month secrecy order

A doctor accused of filming naked women and children in the change rooms of a public swimming pool is fighting to keep his name a secret.

It’s the latest attempt by an accused to suppress their identity on the grounds of psychological safety of a person.

Almost 500 suppression orders in various forms were issued in Victorian courts last year, with the highest number being issued on safety grounds – including for mental health reasons.

Last week, the doctor was handed a three-month interim order protecting his identity to allow him more time to obtain material backing his claim that reporting would impact the psychological safety of his child.

This is despite the legislation stating that interim orders must be formalised or struck out as a matter of “urgency”.

This masthead argued that the time frame granted was excessive and unsuccessfully urged the magistrate to reject the request.

The court earlier heard the father was arrested at the Harold Holt public pool in Glen Iris after he was allegedly caught filming under shower cubicles. A search of his phone by police allegedly uncovered a significant number of images and videos of females at the pool and other unknown locations, dating back to 2024.

This included a child believed to be aged about three, showering with her mother. Twenty electronic devices were seized from his Hawthorn home before he was granted bail and released back into the community.

This was despite police opposing his release on the grounds he posed a significant risk to the sexual safety of the community.

The man is the second doctor to be granted a suppression order over their identity since May, with another charged with raping a woman in his home given anonymity by the courts after citing mental health concerns.

On Wednesday, two women accused of spraying graffiti at the Reservoir and Heidelberg RSLs on Anzac Day that read “f— the Anzacs” were granted an order banning their faces from being shown on the basis that their safety was at risk from vigilantes.

The Age has analysed data from all suppression orders handed down in Victoria during 2025 that the press were notified about as per the legislative requirements.

The data shows 477 suppression orders were granted last year to 368 people. Of those granted, 95 were interim orders, 19 broad orders and 363 proceeding suppression orders.

Three days’ notice to the media of the intended application for a broad or proceeding suppression order is required in Victoria. Of the 383 applications requiring notice that resulted in orders being made, the press was notified of 50.

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