A former sleep scientist at Perth's Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital, already serving a lengthy prison sentence for accessing intimate footage of female patients, has been handed additional jail time for a separate series of depraved crimes.
Hospital Crimes and Additional Offences
Stuart James King was sentenced earlier this month to five and a half years in prison for using the hospital's computer system to obtain private video footage of 12 female patients. The footage captured the vulnerable women undressing and redressing before and after their sleep studies at the Nedlands facility.
On Friday, 19 December 2025, King faced Perth Magistrates Court again and was sentenced to an extra four months behind bars and fined $2000. These new penalties relate to charges of using an optical surveillance device to record a private activity, committing indecent acts in public, and stalking. King pleaded guilty to all charges, which occurred between July 2023 and February 2024.
A Pattern of Predatory Behaviour
The court heard disturbing details of King's actions beyond the hospital walls. One incident involved him following a woman up a public escalator and using his mobile phone to take photographs under her skirt.
Another set of charges related to him stalking a woman at her home in Wanneroo. In early 2024, CCTV footage captured King approaching the victim's residence and peering through windows into the bedroom and bathroom. On multiple separate occasions, the same male figure was recorded returning to the house and looking through the windows. In one particularly egregious act, King used his phone to record the woman while she was naked in her bathroom.
During a police search warrant, officers found clothing matching that worn by the man in the CCTV footage. King subsequently admitted to the acts and entered guilty pleas.
Court Condemnation and Personal Fallout
Magistrate Justin Geoghegan condemned the offending as a significant and serious breach of privacy. "Every person is entitled to privacy... no one should expect when they go out in public to be targeted by people like you," Magistrate Geoghegan told King. "While you may see it as a victimless crime, it is not. I have no doubt it will have an ongoing impact on the victims for a long time."
In the earlier hospital case, Judge Charlotte Wallace stated King had violated his victims, who were already in a vulnerable position due to their sleep issues. She said his actions constituted "a very serious example of gaining benefit from accessing a restricted computer at work" and that he had violated the women's bodily autonomy and right to privacy.
King's defence lawyer, Ashley Watson, told the court his client had voyeuristic tendencies and had been addicted to pornography since his teenage years. Watson said King was ashamed and deeply embarrassed by his actions. The personal consequences for King have been severe; he has since separated from his wife and lost contact with his two young children.
Hospital Response and Review
North Metropolitan Health Service chief executive Robert Toms addressed the incident, expressing confidence that it was an isolated event. "We are pleased that Mr King was sentenced for his criminal conduct and deeply shocked by his behaviour," Mr Toms said. "The safety and wellbeing of our patients is our number one priority, and this is an appalling betrayal of trust by an individual."
Mr Toms emphasised that King worked in a non-clinical role and had no direct contact with patients. He confirmed the hospital worked closely with police during the investigation and took immediate action upon being informed. "We have thoroughly reviewed all practices and are confident this was an isolated incident by a single individual," he stated, adding that steps had been taken to prevent similar behaviour in the future.
The investigation into King's hospital crimes began in January 2024 after police, tipped off by his wife, executed a search warrant at his Marangaroo home. Although his laptop containing the illicit footage was not initially found, King later admitted to hiding it in a filing cabinet next to his office at Sir Charles Gairdner Hospital.
