An Indian national in Canada, Aswin V Sajeevan, has been sentenced to 5.5 months of jail for spying on his female housemates through a peephole of the bathroom and making videos, the National Post reported. Justice Craig A Brannagan did not give a six months punishment as it would have immigration consequences. According to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, a “permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible on grounds of serious criminality” if they are sentenced to more than six months in jail.Brannagan came under social media fire for his “lenient” punishment. In the ruling, he said Sajeevan was genuinely remorseful for his past behavior.According to court documents, Sajeevan’s bedroom was next to a laundry room that was beside a bathroom used by the women who lived in the house. A group of women found out that there was a peephole between the laundry room and the bathroom. Sajeevan used to enter the laundry room shortly after any woman had entered the bathroom which raised suspicion.In March, a complaint was filed against Sajeevan after one of the residents found him crouched down in the laundry room peering through the peephole when the bathroom was in use by a woman. He was confronted at that time but he denied any wrongdoing and said he was searching for his earbuds. Sajeevan later admitted to his housemates and then to the cops that he was excited to see the female roommates naked. The judge noted that Sajeevan’s offence had a chilling effect on his victims, “causing them to modify their behavior”.The Crown and Sajeevan’s defence lawyer both recommended house arrest for Sajeevan but the judge said that the offences were committed inside his home.Sajeevan came to Canada from Kerala with a student visa to study computer programing but was suspended due to a low GPA. He works as a line cook in a restaurant. The National Post reported that his father is a police constable who confirmed that voyeurism is a criminal act in India.
