Three years’ jail for child sex abuse images

A 25-year-old Kaitaia man has been sentenced in the Whangarei District Court to three years’ jail for possessing and distributing pictures of children being sexually abused by adults.

The man,a shop assistant had earlier pleaded not guilty to, but was convicted on, seven charges of distributing an objectionable publication and 20 of possession.

Judge Keith de Ridder, sentenced him to three years’ prison for distribution and 18 months for possession, the terms to be served concurrently.

In April 2005 an Internal Affairs Department censorship inspector detected the man making pictures available on the Internet. A search warrant was executed on his Kaitaia house in March 2006 and two compact disks were found containing 1044 pictures and movies of a sexual nature including girls aged three to 13 years being sexually abused by men and women.

Internal Affairs’ Deputy Secretary Keith Manch said the three-year sentence is the second heaviest imposed in an Internal Affairs prosecution since Parliament increased the penalties for this type of offending in February 2005. In October 2005 a Waikato man was jailed for three-and-a-half years on similar charges.

“This sentence should serve as a warning to others who trade in this industry,” Keith Manch said. “Our inspectors are very active in tracking down collectors as New Zealand is committed to international efforts to combat the abuse of children.

“This is not a victimless crime. There has to be a constant stream of children being abused by adults in order to feed the insatiable appetite of this foul industry. Those who download and offer the results of this abuse provide traders with a ready market.”


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