Forensics uncovered offending

30 October 2009

A Christchurch man whom the Department of Internal Affairs detected making available child sexual abuse images on the Internet was jailed for 20 months in the Christchurch District Court today.

He had previously been before the court on indecent assault charges and he told a publications’ inspector he was introduced to the objectionable material by a person he met while completing the STOP programme for sex offenders.

The man was sentenced on 10 charges of possession and distribution of objectionable publications. A forensic examination of his computer system located over 300 objectionable images of girls aged between three and 14.
Judge Michael Crosbie said home detention would be insufficient denunciation or deterrence. Every image involved the abuse of a real child and offering them on the Internet encouraged that “insidious industry”.

Internal Affairs Deputy Secretary, Keith Manch, said that three days before the Department executed a search warrant the offender upgraded his computer to provide a “clean slate”.

“But our censorship compliance team used their expertise to locate the objectionable material on the computer hard drives,” he said. “We can overcome the most sophisticated attempts to conceal offending.”

Media contact:
Keith Manch, Deputy Secretary, Department of Internal Affairs
Ph 04 495 9329; cell 021 227 6363
Trevor Henry, communications adviser, Department of Internal Affairs
Ph 04 495 7211; cell 0275 843 679