A father of eight Louis Nugent (67) appeared at Letterkenny Circuit Court charged with carrying out lewd acts on a number of occasions after being caught by the father of two of his victims.
The conduct of the former carpenter and tax-driver came to light when the two girls, aged 12 and 14, refused to go to swimming lessons at the Aura Leisure Centre in Letterkenny following incidents involving Nugent.
Detective Garda Stephen Moyles said the sisters were in a changing cubicle on November 15th, 2017 when the younger girl noticed a mobile phone appear beneath the partition with the adjacent cubicle.
The girl believed that she and her sister were being recorded and saw a man lying on the floor in the next cubicle. The other girl, who climbed onto the seat, told the court a man was "hunched over and flicking through his phone".
They did not initially tell their parents but the following week refused to go swimming, telling their father what had happened.
Instead of confronting the accused, the man decided to monitor Nugent in the changing rooms in a communal area.
The father, who cannot be named to protect the victims, saw Nugent remove someone else’s clothing from a cubicle next to another which a mother and a young girl were using.
He then saw Nugent lying sideways on the floor with a mobile phone in one hand and a circular mirror in the other.
Nugent was observed concealing the phone and mirror with a towel and was also seen placing two mirrors and two phones in a locker and returning to the pool area.
The man saw Nugent smile at another young girl, estimated to be six or seven-years-old. The young girl went to a shower cubicle with the door opened.
CCTV footage
Detective Garda Moyles said the witness observed Nugent engage in "an act clearly described as masturbation".
On another occasion, he was witnessed by the man lying on the floor of a cubicle masturbating while filming another young girl getting showered.
The witness saw Nugent remove a mirror which was concealed behind the toilet bowl.
The outraged man finally confronted Nugent and escorted him off the premises, but Nugent whispered to him: "You’ll never f***ing catch me," the court was told.
The man informed staff and gardaí who viewed CCTV footage and identified the accused.
A further search of the building revealed a number of other mirrors allegedly hidden by Nugent in other parts of the changing rooms.
Before he could be arrested, Nugent fled to Scotland but was later arrested and brought back to Ireland on a European Arrest Warrant and has been held in Castlerea Prison since October 7th, 2021.
Nugent, of Killyclug, Letterkenny, pleaded guilty to engaging in an act of masturbation in a public place, the Aura Leisure Centre, on November 21st, 2017.
He also pleaded guilty to three counts of intentionally engaging in offensive behaviour of a sexual nature at Aura Leisure Centre on November 15th, 2017 and November 21st, 2017
He also pleaded guilty to intentionally engaging in offensive behaviour of a sexual nature on November 22, 2017 on an occasion other than that referred to at the Aura Leisure Centre
'At a loss to offer an explanation'
His barrister, Mr Sean McGee, said his client simply could not explain why he carried out such acts, adding he had no previous convictions.
Since the matter came to light, the accused has lost his marriage and has had limited contact with any of his children, the court heard.
The only place he can seek shelter is at his mother's home in Glasgow, he added.
“He has been completely isolated since,” Mr McGee said.
“He is not in a position to offer an explanation other than this was something that he fell into. He is at a loss to offer an explanation. He simply doesn’t understand why he fell into this type of behaviour.”
Mr McGee said Nugent wished to apologise to his victims.
Judge John Aylmer remanded him in custody until next Wednesday, November 2nd, 2022, when he will be sentenced.
