Internet collector exposed

12/12/2005

The conviction of a Masterton man for collecting and distributing child abuse pictures via the internet is another warning to offenders that they can be tracked down, Department of Internal Affairs Deputy Secretary, Andrew Secker said today.

A 42-year-old beneficiary was convicted and fined $2100 in the Masterton District Court (on Dec 9, 2005) for possessing and distributing images of children being sexually abused.

The man pleaded guilty to 15 charges of possessing an objectionable publication but contested two charges involving distribution.

Andrew Secker said the offences were committed in 2004 and the accused was convicted under the 1993 Film, Videos and Publications Classification Act.

“But, Parliament has toughened the law and since February 2005 new offenders are liable to much stiffer penalties including up to 10 years prison for distribution and copying offences and up to five years for possession,” Mr Secker said. “People indulging in this traffic, which is only possible through the abuse of children, must realise that we can find them.”

Department of Internal Affairs inspectors tracked the man down through a local Internet Service Provider after an overseas tip-off that a “Mr_Smith” was using a file sharing application called Kazaa. They seized a computer system, video recordings and CDROMS from his address.

Media contact:
Andrew Secker, Deputy Secretary, tel: 04 495 9329, cell: 027 281 5211
Trevor Henry, Communications Advisor, tel: 04 495 7211, cell: 021 843 679