Refused bail, back in court next month

A109 Light Utility Helicopter flight with mayor Gisborne City from the air in November 2023.

A man charged for possessing and distributing objectionable publications featuring child exploitation, has been refused bail.

Joshua Luke Ripia, 27, faces 18 charges of possessing the objectionable material and two charges of knowingly distributing it. The charges relate to specific incidents in April, 2021.

He applied for bail this week in Gisborne District Court but a Justice of the Peace refused to grant it. Ripia was remanded into custody to appear next at a registrar’s list on July 5.