Man who videotaped female college students in bathroom gets 180 days

A former Wheaton College student convicted of secretly videotaping female schoolmates in their bathroom got a stern rebuke from a DuPage County judge Thursday to go along with a 180-day sentence in the county jail.
"Bizarre," "disgusting" and "perverted" were some of the words used by Judge John Kinsella to describe the actions of Alexander Lim.
Authorities say Lim used a camera disguised to look like a watch and placed it in the bathroom of a college apartment to shoot video of four women who lived there. He posted some of the videos online on a pornographic website, police said, and one video was viewed more than 5,000 times.
"People just don't do things like this to their friends," the judge said. "What a horrible thing to do. It's the ultimate demonstration of personal betrayal."
One of the women testified Wednesday in court that Lim's actions had badly shaken her, and prosecutors presented statements from three other victims, all of whom expressed similar emotional damage. Police said that Lim had also used a camera to take video up women's skirts, including some shot at church services.
The judge told Lim that his acts showed "a level of spite and meanness you need to explore."
However, the judge, who said he wrestled with his sentencing decision, declined to send Lim to the penitentiary. Kinsella said some medical evaluations noted Lim's behavior could have been exacerbated by brain lesions and an epileptic seizure. Kinsella also said Lim lacked a criminal record and had served in the military in his native Singapore.
In addition to the jail sentence, the judge imposed a 30-month term of sex offender probation, which includes counseling and places curbs on internet use. However, Lim, who was in the U.S. on a now-defunct student visa, may face deportation proceedings after he concludes his jail sentence, which should be in about 90 days.
The judge ordered that prosecutors alert federal immigration authorities to apprise them of Lim's conviction. However, federal agents were already in attendance at the hearing.
Lim had addressed the court Wednesday, saying he had sinned against God and betrayed his friends.
"I allowed myself to be swept away by my own self-destructive lust," he said.
Prosecutors had asked for a five-year prison sentence, the maximum for his felony conviction of unauthorized video recording or transmission. Lim, who had been free on bond, was taken into custody after the hearing.