Sex offender admits hiding camera in dressing room

A registered sex offender from Mastic Beach admitted in court Friday that he planted a video camera in a changing room to record swimsuit models getting undressed before a fashion show in Southampton.

Robert Liguori, 52, pleaded guilty to eight counts of second-degree unlawful surveillance.

In return for the plea, Suffolk County Court Judge Barbara Kahn promised to sentence him to 1 1/2 to 3 years in prison on May 8. Assistant District Attorney Jon Manley said his office would recommend a sentence of 2 to 4 years.

"He made some poor choices," his attorney, Christopher Gioe of Central Islip, said afterward. "He's sorry for what he did to the girls."

Liguori wants to serve his time and get the counseling he needs, Gioe said. The defendant was convicted in 2000 of federal child pornography charges.

Liguori posed as a fashion photographer at a swimsuit show last year and put the camera in a dressing room on July 12. An intern working at the event found the camera.