A Christchurch man has been arrested for allegedly owning and sharing child sexual abuse material.
Customs got a tip from United States-based social media platforms about objectionable videos a New Zealander had been uploading.
The tip-off accused the man of sharing the videos to messenger apps, Customs said.
Customs identified the 42-year-old man as living in Linwood in Christchurch’s eastern suburbs.
Customs officers raided his home this morning, but the man was allegedly uncooperative when officers tried to search his cellphone.
Jason Christopher Fauth, a truck driver living in Linwood, appeared from custody at Christchurch District Court this afternoon on five charges of exporting, distributing and possessing objectionable publications and failing to provide access to a computer system.
Fauth appeared via audio-visual link before Judge Jane Farish.
He was granted bail on several conditions, including that he has no unsupervised access to the internet, not to associate with children under 16, not to consume any alcohol or illegal drugs, and not to attempt to leave New Zealand.
Judge Farish remanded Fauth on bail to return to court on June 12. No pleas were entered.
Chief Customs Officer Simon Peterson said: “Despite this man failing to comply with our request, Customs investigators were able to analyse the phone’s SD card.
“This confirmed he was in possession of numerous videos of child sexual abuse, and he was arrested on site,” Peterson said.
The man’s electronic devices were being held by Customs for forensic examination and this could see him face further charges, Peterson said.
