$20,000 child porn fine

A South Auckland man has been fined $20,000 for possessing images of adults sexually abusing children following a tip-off from German police.

Minesh Kumar, 37, was told by Judge Anna Johns in the Manukau District Court that she would have sent him to prison if she had the power.

But the Papatoetoe man's offending happened before February last year, when Parliament strengthened penalties.

The Department of Internal Affairs found more than 50,000 sexually explicit images on his laptop computer. More than 17,000 involved children being abused.

They moved in after an investigation by German police revealed a New Zealand online address.

Kumar pleaded guilty to 20 representative charges.

Steve O'Brien, the department's censorship compliance manager, said the prosecution showed how wide the net was spreading in tracking down offenders.