A man who hid a secret camera in his stepdaughter’s room claimed he was just trying to teach her a lesson about taking selfies.

The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty in breach of privacy but denied the act was sexually driven at Maroochydore Magistrates Court, in the Sunshine Coast, on Wednesday.

The court heard the girl had been FaceTiming her friend in her bedroom before she noticed a glowing light coming from her cupboard in February, Sunshine Coast Daily reported.

She found a box with a hole in its side and a mobile phone set to record inside of it.

Police prosecutor David Bradley said the stepfather asked if he could grab a pair of scissors from the cupboard and retrieved the phone.

He pulled the girl into a room to speak to her privately and out of earshot of her 19-year-old brother.

‘I’m sorry for what I did, you’re a smart girl, I know it’s creepy, I haven’t done it before … don’t tell anyone, don’t tell mum,’ the man said.

The court heard the man claimed he was teaching the girl a lesson about taking selfies but the prosecution dismissed the claim and said neither of the girls’ biological parents were aware of any such plan.

Magistrate Paul Byrne also labelled the claim ‘fictitious’ and ‘inconceivable’.

In a victim impact statement read to court, the girl said she had developed trust issues and no longer felt safe in her own home.

The man was sentenced to six months jail to remain operational for two years after it was suspended for the 26 days he already served in custody.