Christchurch police officer allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to underage girl

Name: Infrastructure funding, hospital partnerships and Auckland trains in chaos | Focus Morning Bulletin 23 February, 2024
Uploaded: 2024-02-23T07:29:37+13:00
Description: The infrastructure commission says we need to look more to the long term, worries about standards of care between public and private hospitals and train cancellations are 3 times higher than in previous years. Video / NZ Herald

By Sam Sherwood

Senior Journalist, Crime, NZ Herald·NZ Herald·

23 Feb, 2024 12:40 AMQuick Read

The infrastructure commission says we need to look more to the long term, worries about standards of care between public and private hospitals and train cancellations are 3 times higher than in previous years. Video / NZ Herald

A police officer allegedly sent sexually explicit messages to an underage girl on Instagram.

Court documents seen by the Herald allege the Christchurch man, who is aged in his mid-40s, committed the offences between February 5 and February 26, 2023.

He faces two charges of being a person of or over the age of 16 years who intentionally exposed a young person under the age of 16 years to indecent material, namely sexually explicit messages via the Instagram messaging app.

The man’s occupation on court documents is a police officer.

The Herald approached police for comment. In a statement, a police spokeswoman said the man was no longer a police employee and police were unable to comment further.

A Christchurch District Court registrar confirmed the man is next due to appear in court in May.

Sam Sherwood is a Christchurch-based reporter who covers crime. He is a senior journalist who joined the Herald in 2022, and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.