A former Australian Defence Force Academy cadet is now facing more than 250 charges after allegedly hiding a camera inside a shared bathroom soap dispenser to film women.
The case against Tain Stewart Stephens, 20, was mentioned in the ACT Magistrates Court on Tuesday, September 15, before special magistrate Lucinda Wilson.
The court heard Stephens faces 181 fresh charges, which include multiple counts of possessing, controlling, producing, supplying, or obtaining child abuse material for use through a carriage service, as well as capturing intimate visual data.
Police said the fresh charges have brought the total to 261.
He is yet to enter pleas to the new charges, though he previously pleaded not guilty to his initial charges.
It is alleged Stephens installed a hidden camera inside a soap dispenser in the academy's shared showers to film naked women.
Officers were called to the academy on May 9, 2026, after a resident and staff member located the device.
Police later seized multiple items after searching Stephens's room, vehicle, and electronic devices.
It is understood the footage has allegedly captured up to 45 people.
Stephens was arrested and granted bail by Ms Wilson in May.
During his bail application, prosecutor Emma Bayliss said the 20-year-old's actions were "calculated and premeditated", noting the dispenser had allegedly been fitted with a wireless transmitter, camera, and SD card.
She said another 17 soap dispensers across the academy had also been tampered with, although no additional recording devices were found.
On Tuesday, prosecutor James Melloy said the new charges appear to "arise from the same circumstances".
"Is this the young fellow who used to be in defence?" Ms Wilson asked the lawyers on Tuesday.
"At the bail application I was told there was a possibility of further charges, and that has definitely happened," she said, after it was confirmed Stephens was the same person she had previously granted bail to.
Stephens's defence lawyer asked for a 10-week adjournment so he could go over the new charges with his client, which was granted by the magistrate.
His case will return to court in November.
