A former teacher at Beckman High School in Irvine was sentenced Sept. 10 to more than 17 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to hiding cameras in school restrooms and other areas during a three-year span.
Federal prosecutors say Sit, who was a teacher at the school and served as a robotics team coach, began installing hidden cameras in restrooms on campus starting in February 2020.
After setting up the cameras, Sit would regularly view the videos captured and download some of them, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles.
“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 U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “It is important that we send a strong message of zero tolerance for those who take advantage of children.”
Prosecutors say Sit also placed a hidden camera in the restroom of a hotel room in May 2022, when he was on a trip with the robotics team in Texas. The camera captured some of the students who were staying at the hotel during the robotics tournament.
Sit allegedly viewed and downloaded hundreds of images of children and adults in various stages of undress using restrooms from 2020 to 2023.
In February 2023, the hidden cameras were discovered by a maintenance worker in the all-gender restroom near the school’s pool. The worker turned the items over to administrative staff, who then called Irvine police.
Officers seized several digital devices from Sit’s home, according to prosecutors. Sit allegedly owned and was the sole user of all of the 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 devices identified dozens of images and videos of child pornography, including images and videos that Sit allegedly had recorded of children using restrooms.
Some victims that Sit recorded were under 12, according to prosecutors.
A search of Sit’s hard drive revealed at least 22 images and one video of children engaged in sexual activity, including several that involved a toddler, prosecutors said. Another search of a separate hard drive owned by Sit contained at least 150 images and four videos of children involved in sexual activities.
In his plea agreement, Sit admitted to knowingly possessing images and videos of minors under 12 engaging in sexual conduct, prosecutors said.
U.S. District Judge John Holcomb sentenced Sit to 17 1/2 years in federal prison and also ordered him to be placed on lifetime supervised release after his time is served. A restitution hearing is set for Nov. 8.
Additionally, the Orange County District Attorney’s Office is pursuing criminal charges against him in connection with the alleged adult victims captured in the videos.
The charges filed in state court concerning Sit’s minor victims were dismissed to allow the federal case to proceed.
