Man jailed for distributing child pornography

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A Masterton man was jailed this week for two years and three months for possessing and distributing images and video files of child pornography.

Te Ropiha Keating, 23, pleaded guilty in Masterton District Court on Tuesday to 23 charges of knowingly making or copying objectionable material.

Judge Arthur Tompkins said the offending had occurred from January to the end of May this year and was uncovered through a "coincidental report" by Keating's flatmate to police that his laptop had been used by Keating to "access, view and distribute child pornography".

"Over 2000 such images and videos were found, covering the entire spectrum of categories."

Some images Keating had distributed were "located at the higher end of the child exploitative material covered by the act", Judge Tompkins said.

Judge Tompkins said Keating had been assessed as having a "high likelihood of reoffending, and high risk of harming others".

The judge said home detention would "do little to mitigate that risk, despite restrictive conditions".

A prison sentence, however, meant a psychological assessment and the possibility of a "proven" intensive rehabilitation programme either in Christchurch or Auckland.

The judge said he drew no distinction between "direct" child sex offences and the use of child pornography.

"These were extraordinarily vulnerable victims; the fact that they are not in New Zealand is irrelevant," Judge Tompkins said.

"The kinds of images that he accessed and distributed ... I don't think it's an appropriate distinction to make."