The person in a position of trust installed hidden cameras in the bathrooms at school
SANTA ANA, Calif. — A former high school teacher was sentenced to over 17 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release for child exploitation offenses Sept. 10.
The teacher secretly installed hidden cameras in bathrooms at the school and elsewhere and, during a three-year span, viewed and downloaded hundreds of images — including of children under the age of 12 — using the restroom.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Los Angeles Special Agent in Charge Eddy Wang and the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California Martin Estrada made the announcement.
“This outcome highlights our successful collaboration with local police and federal and state prosecutors to achieve the harshest possible sentencing,” said Wang. “We cannot allow those in positions of public trust to prey on those they are entrusted to protect.”
“This defendant was every parent’s nightmare — rather than care for the safety and well-being of students, he exploited them in the most abhorrent way,” said Estrada. “It is important that we send a strong message of zero tolerance for those who take advantage of children. My office will continue to prosecute offenders who prey on our youth to the fullest extent allowed by law.”
Siu Kong Sit, 38, of Rowland Heights, pleaded guilty March 29 to one count of possession of child pornography. He was sentenced to over 17 years in prison Sept. 10 to be followed by a lifetime of supervised release following his eventual release from prison. A restitution hearing was scheduled for Nov. 8 in this case.
According to Sit’s plea agreement, beginning in at least February 2020, when he was employed as a teacher at Beckman High School in Irvine, Sit began secretly installing hidden cameras in restrooms located on campus. After installing the cameras, Sit regularly reviewed the videos captured by the cameras and downloaded the videos that were of interest to him.
In May 2022, while serving as the high school robotics team coach, Sit placed a hidden camera in the restroom of a hotel room where minor students on the robotics team were staying during a robotics tournament in Texas. From 2020 to 2023, Sit viewed and downloaded hundreds of images of children and adults, in various states of undress, using restrooms.
In February 2023, after the cameras had been discovered, law enforcement seized several digital devices from Sit’s home. Sit owned and was the sole user of all these devices. Officers also seized two external storage drives from the cameras that Sit had secretly installed at Beckman High School.
A forensic review of the various digital devices identified dozens of images and videos of child sexual abuse, including images and videos that Sit had recorded himself of children using restrooms in various states of undress. The victims Sit recorded without their consent were under the age of 18, and some of the victims were under the age of 12.
A search of a Sit-owned hard drive resulted in the seizure of at least 22 images and one video of child sexual abuse, including several depicting a toddler engaged in sexual activity. The search of a separate Sit-owned hard drive contained at least 150 images and four videos of child sexual abuse.
Sit admitted in his plea agreement to knowingly possessing images and videos of minors under the age of 12 engaging in sexual conduct.
The Orange County District Attorney’s Office is pursuing criminal charges against Sit in Orange County Superior Court concerning the adult victims in the hidden videos matter. The charges filed in state court concerning Sit’s minor victims was dismissed so the federal case could proceed.
The Irvine Police Department assisted the investigation on this matter. Assistant U.S. Attorney Melissa S. Rabbani of the Santa Ana Branch Office prosecuted this case.
Anyone with information regarding the exploitation of children is encouraged to call the HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP.
Learn more about HSI Los Angeles’ mission to increase public safety in your community on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSILosAngeles.