The Department of Internal Affairs

Department of Internal Affairs | Te Tari Taiwhenua

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Two men sentenced this week for online child sexual exploitation charges


10 October 2025

 

This week, two men have been sentenced for being in possession of objectionable images depicting the sexual exploitation and abuse of babies and children. It follows two separate investigations by the Department of Internal Affairs’ Digital Child Exploitation team.

41-year-old Visen Keo, was sentenced to 4 years imprisonment after appearing at the Manukau District Court on 8 October 2025. He pled guilty to four charges, related to possessing over 50,000 objectionable images depicting the sexual exploitation and abuse of babies and children. Three of these charges were representative, meaning he’s committed similar offences multiple times. Keo will be required to register as child sex offender.

In early 2023, Keo became a person of interest following a joint operation between the Department of Internal Affairs’ Digital Child Exploitation Team and another international law enforcement agency. The operation investigated the sale of child sexual exploitation material (CSEM) through an online social media application.

A search warrant was then executed at Keo’s home where investigators located and seized multiple devices, including a hard drive. Forensic analysis of the devices identified a total of 54,979 unique objectionable publications depicting the sexual exploitation and harm of real children, 50,116 images were found on the offender’s hard drive. The victims subjected to this recorded abuse were a range of ages, including babies and toddlers.

62-year-old Steven Bruce Cook was sentenced on 9 October 2025 at the Invercargill District Court to 12 months home detention for distributing and possessing objectionable material. The sentencing Judge adopted a starting point of 4 years and 6 months imprisonment before applying discounts totalling 55%.  

In January 2024, Cook began communicating with a Covert Online Investigator from DIA. The nature of his messages indicated he had a sexual interest in children, later sharing an image of child sexual abuse with the Investigator. After the Digital Child Exploitation Team ascertained Cook was the person behind the accounts, a search warrant executed at his address led to multiple electronic devices being seized for forensic examination.  

Forensic analysis of the devices found Cook possessed a total of 6,240 child sexual exploitation and abuse files, including 472 videos, with a total viewing time of over 38 hours. The victims ranged in age from babies to young people under the age of 16.  

Cook stated he liked having a collection and would occasionally watch the files for his own sexual gratification. He admitted that one of the seized hard drives was failing and he had been in the process of copying and converting his older child sexual exploitation files to a new format, so they were easier to play. 

The Judge declined to place Cook on the child sex offender register.   

"These sentences send a clear message to offenders – if you engage in these abhorrent activities, you will be found and held to account” says Tim Houston, Manager Digital Child Exploitation Team.

“The concerted effort and cooperation of DIA and our partners is critical to tackling the proliferation of child abuse material and protecting children from abuse.”

In 2024, the Digital Child Exploitation team conducted 69 investigations into child exploitation and helped to safeguard 14 New Zealand children from harm. Additionally, the Digital Child Exploitation Filtering System blocked over one million attempts to access websites hosting child sexual abuse material. 

Support and Resources 
Parents and caregivers are encouraged to engage with their tamariki about safe online practices. Advice and support for parents and caregivers on protecting their children online is available at KeepItRealOnline.govt.nz.
If you have concerns about potential online harm or wish to report a crime, contact the Digital Child Exploitation Team at DIA. For situations where abuse is occurring or a child is in immediate danger, contact the Police at 111. 


If you are concerned about your own or someone else’s sexual behaviour, please reach out for support: 
Notes for media:
DIA uses the term child sexual abuse imagery (PDF, 625KB). The term child pornography downplays the harm of child sexual abuse. 

For more information on the role of the Digital Child Exploitation Team, what is online child sexual exploitation and how to report it visit https://www.dia.govt.nz/Preventing-Online-Child-Sexual-Exploitation