(Washington) A Navy doctor accused of secretly videotaping Naval Academy midshipmen engaged in sexual acts committed a "flagrant violation of trust," military prosecutors said as the doctor's court martial began.
Cmdr. Kevin J. Ronan is accused of using a video camera hidden in an air purifier in his home to tape midshipmen he hosted at his house last year. He is charged with seven counts of conduct unbecoming an officer, three counts of illegal wiretapping and one count of obstruction of justice.
The Navy began its investigation in January after two men, one a midshipman the other a former student at the academy, turned over to authorities recordings they said they found in Ronan's home.
In his opening statement, Navy prosecutor Lt. Justin Henderson said Ronan recorded midshipmen either with partners or alone in his spare bedrooms, edited them down to the sexually explicit content and transferred them to DVDs. He said thousands of gay pornographic images were found on Ronan's home computer.
Ronan "violated the trust of his midshipman sponsorees," Henderson told the jury of six Navy officers hearing the case at the Washington Navy Yard.
The case is expected to last two weeks.
