The mother of an eight-year-old Perth girl last night told of her devastation and despair after learning that the family's next door neighbour had secretly filmed her daughter undressing in her bedroom from the backyard fence.

The woman who's name has been witheld by The West Australian to protect her daughter, was speaking after 34 year old Andrew James Wilson-Brown pleaded guilty to video recording the girl.

Wilson-Brown, who was caught in last week's nationwide sting on child pornography, also pleaded guilty in Perth Magistrate's Court yesterday to possessing about 1500 child pornography images on CD.

Among the items seized by police was the video cassette of the girl which Wilson-Brown confessed to making in May last year.

"Just the thought of him doing that is killing me," the girl's mother said. "I don't understand what makes a person do that."

She had no intention of telling her daughter because she feared the young girl would be unable to deal with the inevitable torment and anxiety. "I don't want her to know about it because she's a very sensitive little girl and that would kill her," she said.

Police allege that WIlson-Brown saw the girl's bedroom curtains were not drawn and her light was turned on. He returned with his video camera to film the girl from over a back fence as she changed into her pyjamas. The West Australian understands that Wilson-Brown committed the offence while at home alone on his birthday.

The girl's mother cried as she recalled police explaining what Wilson-Brown had done.

"I was totally shocked, he seemed like a good neighbour," she said. "I don't know what was his problem but he seemed nice. He always used to say hello and was always offering to help with things."

She said her husband was also extremely upset and now they did not know who to trust. "You try to keep your kids safe in the house," she said. "You can't trust anybody now, you have to be careful."

The girl's mother said Wilson-Brown's wife was "very nice" and she felt sorry for her, but hoped he would be jailed.

Wilson-Brown was the first of about 200 men caught up in Australia's biggest child pornography crackdown, Operation Auxin, to admit offences. He pleaded guilty to two counts of possessing child pornography and one count of indecently recording a child aged under 13 years. The offences carry a maximum penalties of 5 years and 10 years respectively.

Wilson-Brown has since moved house and now lives in Kinross. Magistrate Steven Heath remanded him on bail and he will undergo a psychological assessment and will be sentenced in the District Court on November 9.



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