Doctor accused of secret toilet recordings had images of 460 victims, Australian police say
Danny Tran
, ABC
Ryan Cho, 27, was arrested and charged with five further offences in Melbourne, on Friday.
Photo:
Supplied/ Victoria Police
A trainee surgeon accused of secretly snapping intimate images of unsuspecting colleagues in hospital toilets in Melbourne allegedly ranked the photos and videos, according to Australian court documents.
Ryan Cho, 27, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday, where he was denied bail after being slugged with several more charges including producing intimate images, using an optical surveillance device and failing to assist police.
He was also charged with stalking earlier this month.
Dr Cho is contesting the charges against him.
Court documents revealed police have accused Dr Cho of capturing about 4500 intimate videos of at least 460 alleged victims at three major hospitals in Melbourne - the Austin, the Royal Melbourne and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre - while they used toilets or showers.
"All these files depict the genital or anal regions of the victims in vulnerable positions," police alleged in court documents.
"The majority of victims depicted in these videos appear to be female doctors, nurses, paramedics and staff members of medical facilities the accused has worked at since 2021."
Dr Cho worked as a trainee surgeon at the Austin Hospital but has since been stood down. His medical registration has also been suspended by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), preventing him from practising as a doctor in Australia.
The ABC understands the 27-year-old worked at the Royal Melbourne Hospital between February 2024 and February 2025.
Court documents alleged Dr Cho was seen "loitering" around the emergency department on a number of occasions despite his shift not starting for some time or while he was not rostered on.
The ABC understands the accused also worked at the Royal Melbourne Hospital for a year.
Photo:
ABC News / Natalie Whiting
The documents alleged that in early July a nurse at the Austin Hospital, who was using a staff toilet, found a mesh bag with a mobile phone that they believed to be recording and reported the incident to management.
The nurse alleged that several days later, the same bag was discovered by hospital security and police were called.
Police later arrested Dr Cho and seized two mobile phones, a laptop, a hard drive, several white mesh bags and removable hooks. They alleged he refused to give them passwords to the devices.
"The mesh bags and removable hooks seized … are of the likeness of the ones used in the commission of his [alleged] offending at the Austin Hospital," police alleged in court documents.
Police alleged that cybercrime analysis of one of the mobile phones showed it had recorded three hours of video footage.
Analysis of the footage also allegedly showed Dr Cho setting up the phone and more than an hour of vision showing the intimate regions of three women.
Court documents further alleged that police analysis of one of the laptop hard drives showed it had 10,374 videos and images that were organised into sub folders separated by hospitals, wards and the names of dozens of alleged victims.
The documents also alleged images and videos were separated into a "ranking" - "Tier 1" and "Tier 2".
"The accused [allegedly] named at least 460 female victims in total, categorising the intimate videos into folders associated with names and workplaces," the documents alleged.
"investigators have received reports from staff and management that they are suffering trauma ... and are fearful of using the hospital facilities," police alleged in court documents.
"Staff are no longer feeling safe in their workplace," the documents read.
On Friday, police opposed bail and alleged Dr Cho, who graduated from Monash University in 2022, was a flight risk because he had no ties to Victoria.
He was denied bail and will return to the Melbourne Magistrates' Court in November.
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Doctor accused of secret toilet recordings had images of 460 victims, Australian police say
By Danny Tran , ABC Ryan Cho, 27, was arrested and charged with five further offences in Melbourne, on Friday. Photo: Supplied/ Victoria Police A trainee surgeon accused of secretly snapping intimate images of unsuspecting colleagues in hospital toilets in Melbourne allegedly ranked the photos and videos, according to Australian court documents. Ryan Cho, 27, appeared in the Melbourne Magistrates' Court on Friday, where he was denied bail after being slugged with several more charges including producing intimate images, using an optical surveillance device and failing to assist police. He was also charged with stalking earlier this month. Dr Cho is contesting the charges against him. Court documents revealed police have accused Dr Cho of capturing about 4500 intimate videos of at least 460 alleged victims at three major hospitals in Melbourne - the Austin, the Royal Melbourne and the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre - while they used toilets or showers. "All these files depict the genital or anal regions of the victims in vulnerable positions," police alleged in court documents. "The majority of victims depicted in these videos appear to be female doctors, nurses, paramedics and staff members of medical facilities the accused has worked at since 2021." Dr Cho worked as a trainee surgeon at the Austin Hospital but has since been stood down. His medical registration has also been suspended by the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency (AHPRA), preventing him from practising as a doctor in Australia. The ABC understands the 27-year-old worked at the Royal Melbourne Hospital between February 2024 and February 2025. Court documents alleged Dr Cho was seen "loitering" around the emergency department on a number of occasions despite his shift not starting for some time or while he was not rostered on. The ABC understands the accused also worked at the Royal Melbourne Hospital for a year. Photo: ABC News / Natalie Whiting The documents alleged that in early July a nurse at the Austin Hospital, who was using a staff toilet, found a mesh bag with a mobile phone that they believed to be recording and reported the incident to management. The nurse alleged that several days later, the same bag was discovered by hospital security and police were called. Police later arrested Dr Cho and seized two mobile phones, a laptop, a hard drive, several white mesh bags and removable hooks. They alleged he refused to give them passwords to the devices. "The mesh bags and removable hooks seized … are of the likeness of the ones used in the commission of his [alleged] offending at the Austin Hospital," police alleged in court documents. Police alleged that cybercrime analysis of one of the mobile phones showed it had recorded three hours of video footage. Analysis of the footage also allegedly showed Dr Cho setting up the phone and more than an hour of vision showing the intimate regions of three women. Court documents further alleged that police analysis of one of the laptop hard drives showed it had 10,374 videos and images that were organised into sub folders separated by hospitals, wards and the names of dozens of alleged victims. The documents also alleged images and videos were separated into a "ranking" - "Tier 1" and "Tier 2". "The accused [allegedly] named at least 460 female victims in total, categorising the intimate videos into folders associated with names and workplaces," the documents alleged. "investigators have received reports from staff and management that they are suffering trauma ... and are fearful of using the hospital facilities," police alleged in court documents. "Staff are no longer feeling safe in their workplace," the documents read. On Friday, police opposed bail and alleged Dr Cho, who graduated from Monash University in 2022, was a flight risk because he had no ties to Victoria. He was denied bail and will return to the Melbourne Magistrates' Court in November. - This story was first published by ABC If it is an emergency and you feel like you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
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