Cub scout leader pleads guilty to indecency charges

Internet monitoring by the FBI has led to a Gisborne cub scouts leader being charged with three counts of indecencies involving children.

Noel Coffey, 52, former leader of the Riverdale Cub Group, pleaded guilty in Gisborne District Court to three charges of indecently assaulting a girl and boy, and permitting the boy to do an indecent act.

Judge James Rota remanded Coffey in custody for sentence on April 12, saying there was no point granting him bail as he would invariably be jailed.

The judge ordered a psychiatric assessment be carried out before sentencing.

The court heard that the offending came to light in January when the censorship compliance unit of the Department of Internal Affairs, acting on advice from America's Federal Bureau of Investigation, found incriminating video clips featuring the boy and girl on Coffey's computer.

Coffey also admitted downloading images of children after paying $45 to join a child porn website, which alerted the FBI.

Coffey's lawyer Adam Simperingham said extensive police inquiries had failed to reveal any offending against other children.

Scouts Association national chief executive Geoff Knighton issued a statement condemning people who took advantage of the trust of parents and children.

- NZPA