Nelson man sentenced to 26 months imprisonment for possessing child sexual exploitation and bestiality material

15 June 2022

A Nelson based man has been sentenced to 26 months imprisonment in the Nelson District Court today after pleading guilty to 7 representative charges relating to the possession of objectionable material depicting the sexual exploitation and abuse of children and bestiality.

Dale William Cramond, 32, was charged after investigators found images and videos of child sexual abuse and bestiality stored in online accounts operated by him, and on his mobile phone.

This investigation was part of Operation H, a significant international operation led by Te Tari Taiwhenua Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) Digital Child Exploitation Team, which identified more than 90,000 online accounts accessing and sharing some of the most horrific and devastating child sexual abuse material online.

To date, Operation H has resulted in 46 arrests in New Zealand, over 836 cases being investigated and the safeguarding of 146 children globally.

Tim Houston, Manager of the DIA Digital Child Exploitation Team, welcomed the sentence,

"If you are viewing and sharing these images, you are complicit in the sexual abuse of children and the lifelong damage it causes”.

"DIA, NZ Police and the NZ Customs Service work tirelessly together to ensure children are not re-victimised by those seeking to derive sickening gratification from their suffering".

Cramond is required to register as a child sex offender. He will be required to forfeit devices and be added to the Child Sexual Offenders Register.

If you are concerned that something you have seen may be objectionable or want to report a crime, you can report it to the Digital Child Exploitation team at DIA.

If you are the victim of a child abuse or sexual abuse crime:
Child Abuse: Directory for information and support
Safe to Talk: 0800 044 334 Text 4334

If you are concerned about your own activity online or someone else’s sexual behaviour, you should contact:
Safe to Talk: 0800 044 334 Text 4334
Or local treatment providers, or specialist therapists.

The Department of Internal Affairs uses the term child sexual abuse imagery. The term child pornography downplays the harm of child sexual abuse.