Phillip Antony Best: Bunbury man on trial for secretly recording a teenage girl changing in beachside toilet

A Bunbury Surf Life Saving Club youth development co-ordinator was caught using his phone to secretly record a teenage girl changing out of her bikini in a beachside toilet block while performing maintenance as a plumber, a jury has been told. Phillip Antony Best, 60, has pleaded not guilty to one count of indecently recording a child over 13 but under 16, and his trial began in the Bunbury District Court on Monday. It is claimed he filmed a 15-year-old girl in the toilets while he was working at the site, which he had access to as a City of Bunbury contractor. Prosecutor Gary Huggins made his opening statement, saying at sometime after midday on October 8, 2022, the teenage girl and her boyfriend had been at Back Beach in Bunbury. At the time, Mr Best was working as the youth development co-ordinator for the City of Bunbury Surf Life Saving Club and was a contracted plumber — meaning he had access to a maintenance room between the male and female toilets. The jury was told the girl — who was wearing a bikini — and her boyfriend had spent an hour at the beach, sunbathing and swimming. It is claimed she saw Mr Best look at her multiple times, shifting his gaze when she looked back. He is said to have been working on a bin enclosure close to the toilet block. The girl went into a toilet cubicle to change about 2.30pm. Mr Huggins says Mr Best then went into the maintenance block, with the girl taking off her bikini so she was naked for a period of time. While she was dressing, she claimed she looked up and saw an iPhone recording in a gap. She wrapped herself in a towel and alerted two other teenage girls who were also in the toilet. She is said to have dressed, then when the trio of girls left, it’s claimed they saw Mr Best leaving the maintenance room. The group — including the girl’s boyfriend — approached Mr Best, who originally said he did not have a phone on him. Mr Huggins says Mr Best later produced a phone and showed them his camera roll. The group said they looked at the recently deleted section, where there was footage of the girl, but it’s claimed he then tried to delete it permanently. Mr Huggins told the jury Mr Best’s ex-wife Julie Kelly and a member of the City of Bunbury Surf Life Saving Club would give evidence about Mr Best making admissions to the act during the trial. Defence counsel Michael Devlin chose not to give an opening statement before the evidence began — the first coming from the teenage girl. In video evidence recorded on October 24 last year, the girl said while she was lying on the beach, she noticed a man working in the area. “When we were laying on the towel(s), we were looking at the (surf life saving club) building and when I looked up, he was looking at us,” the girl said. She said he looked at her and her boyfriend “a few times” and looked away, including when she made eye contact. The girl told the court later she went into the toilets to get changed and when she looked up, she spotted a blue-coloured iPhone. “When I looked up, it was pointing towards me, and moving left and right,” she said. During the trial, videos were shown of the group confronting the man. That included showing one of them taking the man’s phone, with another potential video inside the toilet, but the girl could not confirm it was her as no face was shown. The trial continues.