Man of interest in child exploitation ring deported

File photo / Herald on Sunday

A British man identified in relation to a child exploitation investigation has been deported to the United Kingdom after being apprehended by police at a Hawke's Bay location popular with children.

Matthew Paul Hamilton, 29, who was identified as a person of interest in an international child exploitation investigation, was arrested early this month at a leisure activity popular with children.

Police would not say today what the leisure activity was or its location.

Detective Inspector Ross Pinkham of Eastern District Police said there had been sightings of Hamilton in the Hawke's Bay region after a national alert was sent out last month.

"We knew that Hamilton had been seen in the area at some stage, but it was not confirmed. So it was a case of working out where he might be and talking to as many people as possible who might have come across him," Mr Pinkham said.

Hamilton, who had been living illegally in New Zealand since 2008, was only discovered after a detective followed his "gut instinct" that he may be frequenting the leisure activity, Mr Pinkham said.

Hamilton did not resist arrest.

In 2005 while living in Cambodia, Hamilton was charged with sex offences against children and possessing child abuse images. He denied the charges and was found not guilty.

- NZPA