Home detention after victimising children

29 October 2014

Objectionable images encouraged an underground industry that victimised children and adults, Auckland District Court Judge, Philippa Cunningham said today. She sentenced a 58-year-old Mt Albert man, to nine months’ home detention and 100 hours’ community work after he pleaded guilty to one representative charge of distribution and 14 charges of possession of objectionable publications – videos of bestiality, violent rape and child sexual abuse.

In August 2011 he opened a file sharing programme within his home computer on the Internet and, soon after, an Internal Affairs’ investigator downloaded three objectionable files. The investigator tracked him to his home and seized his computer equipment for forensic analysis, uncovering a number of objectionable files and history of accessing child abuse material.

Internal Affairs’ Community Safety Manager, Steve O’Brien, supported the Judge’s comment that this was not a victimless crime:

“Any sexual offence involving a child is disturbing but, by 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 awful burden into adulthood.

“People who download this material perpetuate this nasty industry, providing traders with a ready market for the crimes committed against these young children.

“If you deal in this material you can expect to get caught. We have dedicated inspectors with the expertise to catch offenders.”

Ends

Media contact:
Trevor Henry, Senior Communications Adviser, Department of Internal Affairs
Phone 04 495 7211; 021 245 8642