A 47-year-old Hastings man has been charged with 40 offences relating to online child pornography and indecent acts.
The unemployed man was granted interim name suppression when he appeared in the Hastings District Court yesterday morning.
He is facing 33 charges of making an intimate visual recording, one charge of unlawful sexual conduct with a young person under 16, and six charges of doing an indecent act with intent to insult or offend. Police said further charges are being considered.
The charges resulted from a joint investigation between the Department of Internal Affairs and the Hawke's Bay Police Child Protection Team.
"This case is an example of how one person's viewing of online child exploitation material has allegedly led to direct contact offending against vulnerable young people, due to an urge to record or make their own intimate images," Detective Sergeant Tim Smith said.