Bus driver jailed for filming up skirts of schoolgirls

Sydney, July 23 (IANS) A 48-year-old Japanese-origin bus driver in Sydney has been sentenced to seven months in prison for secretly filming up the skirts of schoolgirls as they boarded his bus.

Takuya Koaze attached a spy camera to the door of the government bus to covertly snap girls as young as 10 when they boarded the vehicle, Sydney's Daily Telegraph reported Monday.

In June, a magistrate sentenced him to 12 months in prison for collecting thousands of photos and more than an hour of video footage.

Koaze appealed the sentence and was released on bail while he waited for the decision.

His lawyer told a district court Monday his client was "very ashamed" about his actions that had stemmed from a "psychological deficit".

He said Koaze's secret filming had "elements of voyeurism and fetishism", but the bus driver did not pose a danger to the community as he had no desire for physical contact with his victims.

But the judge said drivers and people who deal with the public must be told they cannot breach that position of trust.

On Monday, the driver's jail term was reduced to seven months so that a psychologist could treat him when he was let out of prison.