Home detention for sex abuse image collection

10 October 2014

A Christchurch business analyst was sentenced to nine months’ home detention and 200 hours community work after pleading guilty to charges involving pictures of children being sexually abused.

He appeared for sentence in the Christchurch District Court yesterday on one charge of distribution and 11 of possession of objectionable publications. Among more than 4000 objectionable images found on computer equipment seized from his home were pictures of young children being sexually exploited or abused.

Investigators from Internal Affairs and Queensland Police separately engaged with the man on Internet social networking sites and were sent numerous objectionable images.

Tracked to his Christchurch home, the man told an Internal Affairs inspector he had been accessing and collecting material for several years.

Censorship Compliance team leader, Jon Peacock, said people, who think they are safe in the confines of their own home, viewing objectionable material, should reconsider.

“If you deal in this material you can expect to get caught. We have dedicated inspectors with the expertise to catch offenders. No matter what you do, everything’s traceable on your computer.

“Any sexual offence involving a child is disturbing but, by photographing, viewing and distributing pictures of the assault, the victim is victimized again and again every time their photo turns up on the Internet. The abused child carries this dreadful burden into adulthood.”

Notes:

We strongly encourage the use of the phrase “online child sex abuse” and not “child or kiddie pornography,” because the word pornography:

· downplays child sexual abuse. Most of the public is unaware of the seriousness of this type of offending which includes images of oral, vaginal and anal sex, sometimes bondage, bestiality and sexual torture.

· indicates legitimacy and compliance on victim’s part, suggesting legality on abuser’s part. These are criminal acts and each act is a crime scene.

· conjures up images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than capturing horrific abuse and suffering. Victims suffer physical and emotional abuse with the impact often staying with them for life.

The Department of Internal Affairs’ Censorship Compliance Unit works with the New Zealand Police and New Zealand Customs to investigate online child sex abuse.

The Department has an international reputation for its work investigation online child sex abuse.

Media contact:

Sue Ingram Communications Account Manager,

Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua
Direct Dial: +64 4 494 0584 | Mobile: +64 27 541 4696 | www.dia.govt.nz