A Rotorua man jailed for importing and possessing objectionable videos and photographs cannot be identified as he has appealed an order lifting his name suppression. Photo / Kelly Makiha
A Rotorua man jailed for importing and possessing objectionable videos and photographs cannot be identified as he has appealed an order lifting his name suppression. Photo / Kelly Makiha
WARNING: This story mentions sexual abuse and readers may find the content distressing
A Rotorua man was found with more than 50,000 secretly downloaded photos and videos showing the graphic sexual abuse of infants, children and women in what has been described as New Zealand’s “most serious” bust of imported objectionable material.
The identity of the man, who had more than 800 hours of material, cannot be revealed because he has appealed a judge’s decision to lift his interim name suppression.
Rotorua District Court judge Greg Hollister-Jones on Thursday sentenced the man to seven years and three months’ jail but said he came close to imposing the maximum term of 10 years.
”This is so, so, serious ... It just strikes at the values of a civil society. We cannot have a civil society if we have this,” Judge Hollister-Jones said.
The court heard the man suffered chronic pain and took strong medication daily.
Judge Hollister-Jones referred to a psychologist’s opinion that “the shocking impact of the pornography and other objectional materials is powerful enough even without sexual arousal to distract him from his chronic pain and emotional misery”.
The case was detailed in court where, at times, Judge Hollister-Jones had to pause several times before reading the graphic details about the images and videos.
Judge Hollister-Jones said they showed mainly Asian victims, many of who were children and likely the subject of trafficking.
Dehumanising material
The man pleaded guilty to three representative charges, including importing objectionable publications and two counts of possessing objectionable publications. Each charge carried a maximum sentence of 10 years in jail or a fine of up to $50,000.
The material included depictions of child sex exploitation, necrophilia, rape, torture, defecation and bestiality.
Judge Hollister-Jones said that between December 5, 2022, and December 24, 2022, the man used peer-to-peer (P2P) software and downloaded 11,918 publications depicting child sexual exploitation material from an overseas internet protocol (IP) address.
Between February 18, 2022, and February 9, 2023, he was found to have 43,629 child sex exploitation publications, totalling about 860 hours across four devices.
During that year-long period, he was also found in possession of 376 publications across three devices.
The Rotorua Courthouse. Photo / NZME
A police summary provided to the Rotorua Daily Post said child sexual exploitation material was the result of real exploitation or sexual abuse.
The summary said the man’s offending was picked up by a New Zealand Customs investigator who detected a person in New Zealand was distributing objectionable publications over the internet using P2P software.
The investigator was able to download publications directly from the man’s computer. as they were made available on the P2P network.
Customs traced the offending to a house in Rotorua.
‘Very, very sorry for himself’
Crown Solicitor Amanda Gordon, appearing for the Customs Service, said she could not find another case in New Zealand that involved such a large number of photos and videos overall.
She said it was an aggravating feature the man had professed his innocence since his arrest and only admitted the charges two weeks before he was due to stand trial this year.
She said he “lawyer-shopped and psychologist-shopped” leading to a delay.
“He has constantly changed lawyers as a result of the advice he was given that he did not like.”
His lawyer, Mike Olphert, said his client had suffered genuine prior trauma and this was not just being raised to get a discount on his sentence.
“When I expressed why he hadn’t raised it prior, he said he was embarrassed and hadn’t wanted to deal with it.”
Judge Hollister-Jones said the theme of the man’s pre-sentence report was the man felt “very, very sorry” for himself and the late reference to trauma could be part of that theme.
The judge was not satisfied there was a major link between the man’s major depressive disorder and his serious offending.
Judge Hollister-Jones said he agreed with the Crown’s submission it was the “most serious” possession case that New Zealand had seen.
He said he only stopped short of imposing the maximum jail term because, despite the man sorting the videos and photos into folders and sub-folders, there was limited curating and file indexing.
He gave discounts totalling 15% for the guilty plea and other matters in the man’s background arriving at a final sentence of seven years and three months in jail.
Customs Service child exploitation operations team chief customers officer Simon Peterson said in a statement a large majority of the material found showed actual children being sexually abused, in some cases very violently.
“The importing or exporting of child abuse material for one’s own gratification is unacceptable. Customs takes this type of offending very seriously.
“Customs is one of three agencies in New Zealand who pursue these offenders, working closely with our partners in police and the Department of Internal Affairs to identify, investigate and arrest those who propagate the vicious cycle of harm by sharing this type of material,” Peterson said.
How to report offending
Concerns or suspicions about someone who may be trading in, or producing child sexual abuse images or videos, can be reported to Customs confidentially on 0800 WE PROTECT (0800 937 768) or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it’s not your fault.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.
This story and headline have been amended to remove references to the offender blaming his chronic pain and being distracted from the pain by sexual arousal. For clarity, the judge referred to a psychologist’s opinion that “the shocking impact of the pornography and other objectional materials is powerful enough even without sexual arousal to distract him from his chronic pain and emotional misery”.
