Porn lawyer escapes being struck off

Queenstown lawyer Wayne McKeague, who was convicted last year for having pornographic material on his computer, has narrowly escaped being struck of the register.

But the 58-year-old has had fines and costs totalling almost $18,000 imposed on him by the New Zealand Law Practitioners Disciplinary Tribunal in a decision handed down in Christchurch today.

Mr McKeague was also required to give an undertaking not to practice law involving children and young persons.

He was convicted after being found with 495 objectionable pornographic images on his computer, most of them of pre-pubescent and teenage girls.

Among the tribunal's reasons given for not striking him off the register or suspending him were that Mr McKeague had taken responsibility for his offending, and the heavy public price he had paid since it came to light.

- NZPA