Jailed for child sex abuse pictures

23/04/2008

A 38-year-old Wanganui man was jailed for 11 months when he was resentenced on 10 charges of possessing objectionable publications – pictures of children being sexually abused by adults.

The man was originally sentenced in June 2007 to community work and supervision for the offences. Judge John Clapham warned him then that imprisonment would result if he breached the terms of the sentence.

In Wanganui District Court (eds:last week April 18) Judge Michael Radford resentenced him to nine months’ jail on the possession charges plus two months for breaching the original sentence.

Internal Affairs Deputy Secretary, Keith Manch, said a Department inspector discovered the offender offering objectionable material on the Internet in January 2006. He was traced to a Wanganui boarding house where his computer system was found to have contained over 65,000 image files, more than 1800 of them objectionable.

“This man’s jailing is a timely reminder of the seriousness of such offending,” Keith Manch said. “The trade in child sex abuse images exists only because such people provide a market.

“In 2005 Parliament toughened the sentences for these types of offences and just a month ago another offender was jailed for five years for collecting and distributing child sex abuse pictures.

“Our team of inspectors constantly monitor the Internet and are part of the worldwide fight against this trade. It is only a matter of time before offenders receive a visit from our team.”

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