Makem guilty on all counts, gets 12 months in jail

Defense attorney Timothy Harrington pats Conor Makem on the shoulder as Makem is handcuffed by a Strafford County Sheriff's Deputy prior to being led from the courtroom on Friday. (Harrison Thorp photo)

DOVER, N.H. - Former Rochester Times and Foster’s Daily Democrat reporter Conor Makem  woke up today for the first of his 365 days of incarceration in the Strafford County Jail after pleading guilty in the bathroom camera scandal at the newspapers’ former Rochester headquarters at the Merchants Plaza.

Makem, 45, formerly of Dover but more recently of Amesbury, Mass., admitted to planting the camera, which recorded images of at least six women in various stages of undress inside the building’s second floor bathroom just footsteps from the newspapers’ former offices.

All the images showed either “genitalia or buttocks” and were recorded on an IPhone and Apple Macbook between July 1, 2012 and Oct. 7, 2013.

One of the victims, a young woman likely in her early 20s, spoke emotionally of the pain she has had to endure because of the humiliation of having been violated in such a way.

“This has been going on for two years,” she said. “I have to deal with the pain for the rest of my life. I have to teach my children to be afraid of going to the bathroom.  My life is now being afraid to go to the bathroom, trying to get rid of the humiliation we had to deal with.”

Judge Brian Tucker asked her what punishment would be appropriate.

“I don’t know, but emotionally we were violated,” she said.

Prosecutor Amy Feliciano read another statement from a victim who said she worked with Makem every day and to have been betrayed by him in such a way was difficult to deal with.

“I would talk to him about work, how my weekend was,” the victim’s statement said.” I can’t believe the man was looking me in the eye and doing this. I no longer have respect for him. It is very humiliating.”

Makem, who was fired by Foster’s following his arrest on Oct. 17, also read a short statement.

Conor Makem

“My sincere apologies, I am truly sorry,” he read. “I am ashamed and have empathy. I am not an emotional person but I have cried and cried. I hurt a lot of people and demolished my own life.”

Makem left the courtroom in handcuffs and escorted by a Strafford County Sheriff’s Deputy.

Maken also pleaded guilty to a felony falsification of evidence charge for destroying the camera, for which he was given a 1½ to five year prison term, which will be suspended pending his five years of good behavior.

Asked if the prosecution’s decision to agree to a plea deal was in light of the victims having to testify at a trial, Assistant County Attorney Amy Feliciano said no, but rather it was because the defendant had admitted his guilt and was prepared to take the consequences of his actions.

Pressed if prosecutors had any victims who had agreed to testify if there were a trial, she refused no comment, only saying, “They would have been subpoenaed.”

After spending the 12 months in jail Makem will be put on probation for three years and will have to accept any and all education, treatment and counseling as directed by authorities as well as psycho-sexual counseling.

During his probation he also will be subject to random searches, submit to authorities all user names and password of electronic equipment and can have no contact with any of the victims.

Defense attorney Timothy Harrington, left, assists Conor Makem with filling out forms registering Makem as a sex offender immediately before being led out of the courtroom in handcuffs. (Harrison Thorp photo)

All 19 Invasion of Privacy charges, which could draw a year of jail time apiece, will run concurrently.

He also has to register as a sex offender for 10 years and filled out the necessary paperwork in the courtroom after which he was immediately handcuffed.

The initial police investigation began on Oct. 7 when the woman who first discovered the camera wondered what a blinking red light was doing in the upstairs Merchants Plaza bathroom and asked Makem to take a look. She said they agreed it should be turned over to police and he said he'd take care of it. Later in the day, according to a police affidavit, the woman said she got a phone message from Makem saying he had given it to police and they had said they would be in touch with them if they needed anything.

A few hours later she called police only to find out they had never been contacted by Makem, nor had the camera been turned in.

Police on Oct. 10 executed a search warrant at the Foster’s Rochester Bureau at Merchants Plaza and seized computers and other electronic devices used by Makem, including some owned by Foster's. They made the initial arrest on falsifying physical evidence and several invasion of privacy counts on Oct. 17, then followed that up a week later with more Invasion of Privacy charges alleging more victims.

Rochester Police also had the FBI investigate an IMac computer owned by the Rochester Times that Makem had access to on which police say they found several dozen images of child pornography. Makem, however, was not charged regarding the child porn as Rochester Police said too many people had had access to the computer over too many years to build a viable case.

The indictment was handed down by a Strafford County grand jury in January.
An accomplished musician in a band that plays traditional Irish music, Makem had to miss a whirlwind Music Tour of Ireland hosted by his Makem and Spain Brothers band late last year after surrendering both his American and Irish passports as part of his bail conditions.
Makem, who was born in County Louth, Ireland, has dual citizenship.
The Makem and Spain Brothers band tours nationwide. Prior to his arrest, the band had recently played venues in New York, Pennsylvania and Kentucky.
A concert scheduled last fall at the Rochester Opera House was canceled.
The band is currently touring without Conor Makem, a person familiar with the band said in March.

Foster’s and the Rochester Times, meanwhile, have moved their offices from Merchants Plaza downtown to the second floor of the Rochester Chamber of Commerce building.