One year's jail for child sex images

Two community groups working to combat the trade in child sex abuse images say the case of a repeat offender jailed in Auckland highlights the danger of weak sentences.

Computer technician Stephen John Laing, from Massey, West Auckland, was jailed for one year in Waitakere District Court on Monday and refused leave to apply for home detention.

Laing pleaded guilty to 33 charges of collecting, advertising and distributing pictures of children aged from 2 months to 10 years being sexually abused and assaulted by adults.

In 2003 he had been fined, given community work and placed on supervision for two years on 29 charges of distributing, advertising and collecting pictures of babies, toddlers and children being sexually abused by adults.

Since Laing's offending, Parliament has amended laws meaning he would today face up to 10 years in jail as opposed to a maximum of the one year he received.

Stop Demand Foundation spokeswoman Denise Ritchie said Laing was clearly not deterred by his earlier sentence.

"An offender let off lightly two years ago, for trading images the judge said were as bad as could be imagined, was back before the court for similar offending," she said.

"But what is of serious concern is that from December 2003 Laing was supposed to be under two years' supervision including attending counselling for sex offenders, yet the evidence shows he was tracked offending throughout this entire period," she said.

" Some serious questions need to be asked about the quality of supervision and the benefit of counselling to such offenders.

"This case also highlights the fact that imposing weak and inadequate sentences provides little deterrence for future offending."

Ms Ritchie said men such as Laing contributed to sexual crimes against children.

"They relive and get off on the sexual abuse inflicted on children and babies. Their trading of such images requires more children to be raped and abused. If we are to stop the global trade in child sex abuse images, the court must come down heavily on offenders."

Alan Bell, director of End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking in Children, said he hoped once the full effect of the new law was felt it would prove to be an effective deterrent.

"The images are described as being at the top end of the scale and yet the offender received a moderate sentence of a year whilst the helpless victims will live with the knowledge that their images are being viewed around the world - and will continue to be viewed."

Internal Affairs deputy secretary Andrew Secker said crime agencies in Canada, the United States and New Zealand spent two years investigating and tracking Laing.

Mr Secker said Laing was a computer professional who did his utmost to hide his offending on the internet.

Since the earlier offending, Laing had used various tricks to avoid detection while continuing to use the web to collect and distribute child sex abuse images.

He had used different internet identities to offer image exchanges, but information from Vancouver police helped Internal Affairs later confirm the identities were a New Zealander - eventually found to be Laing.

He was tracked to his Auckland address and his computer was seized and his home searched. On the computer were 249 pictures of young children, mainly babies, being sexually assaulted.

Analysis also showed a three-year history of extensive use of the internet to collect and distribute child sex abuse images and that several thousand picture files had been deleted.

When interviewed, Laing said sexual abuse of babies interested him because it was "grotesque".

The new child pornography law also increases the maximum penalty for possession of objectionable material from two to five years.

It provides for extradition of people who commit offences in other countries, and introduces importing and exporting offences in recognition that trade in child pornography is an international problem.

The penalties in the bill cover all forms of distribution, whether for commercial gain or not.

- NZPA