Rotorua man jailed for downloading thousands of child abuse photos and videos

“This is so, so, serious… It just strikes at the very values ​​of a civil society. We cannot have a civil society if we have this,” Judge Hollister-Jones said.

The court heard that the man suffered from chronic pain and took strong medication daily. The man told the court that sexual arousal “distracted” him from the pain.

Judge Hollister-Jones rejected his argument.

The case was discussed at length in court, with Judge Hollister-Jones having to pause at times before reading out the shocking details of the images and videos.

According to Judge Hollister-Jones, the victims were mainly Asian, many of whom were children and likely victims of human trafficking.

The man pleaded guilty to three representative charges, including importing objectionable publications and two counts of possessing objectionable publications. Each charge carried a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison or a fine of up to $50,000.

The material contained images of child sexual exploitation, necrophilia, rape, torture, defecation and bestiality.

Judge Hollister-Jones said that between December 5 and 24, 2022, the man used peer-to-peer (P2P) software and downloaded 11,918 publications containing child sexual exploitation material from a foreign internet protocol (IP) address.

43,629 publications on child abuse were identified, representing a total of 860 hours of data spread across four devices.

During that year he was also found in possession of 376 publications spread over three devices.

A police report that was submitted to the Rotorua Daily Post said the child pornography material was the result of real exploitation or sexual abuse.

The summary states that the man’s offence was noticed by a New Zealand Customs detective, who discovered that an individual in New Zealand was distributing offensive publications over the internet using P2P software.

The researcher was able to download the publications directly from the man’s computer because they were made available through the P2P network.

Customs concluded that the offence took place at a house in Rotorua.

‘Very, very sorry for himself’

Lawyer Amanda Gordon, acting for Customs, said she could not find another case in New Zealand involving so many photos and videos in total.

She said it was aggravating that the man had pleaded his innocence since his arrest and had only confessed to the charges two weeks before he was due to appear in court this year.

She said he had switched “from lawyer to psychologist,” which had caused a delay.

“He has changed lawyers constantly because of advice he received that he did not like.”

According to his attorney, Mike Olphert, his client had already suffered serious trauma in the past and this was not simply cited to obtain a reduced sentence.

“When I explained why he hadn’t brought it up before, he said he was ashamed and didn’t want to deal with it.”

Judge Hollister-Jones said the theme of the man’s pre-sentence report was that the man felt “very, very sorry” for himself and the late reference to trauma could be part of that theme.

The judge was not convinced that there was a clear link between the man’s severe depressive disorder and his serious offence.

Judge Hollister-Jones said he agreed with the Crown’s submission that it was the “most serious” possession case New Zealand had ever seen.

He said he only avoided imposing the maximum prison sentence because, despite the man sorting the videos and photos into folders and subfolders, there was only limited curation and indexing of the files.

He gave discounts totaling 15% for the man’s guilty plea and other matters relating to his past, resulting in an eventual prison sentence of seven years and three months.

Simon Peterson, head of Customs’ child abuse team, said in a statement that the vast majority of the material found actually sexually abused children, in some cases in extremely violent ways.

“Importing or exporting child abuse material for personal enjoyment is unacceptable. Customs takes these types of violations very seriously.

“Customs is one of three agencies in New Zealand that prosecutes these offenders. We work closely with our partners in the police and the Department of Internal Affairs to identify, investigate and arrest those who perpetuate the cycle of harm by sharing this type of material,” Peterson said.

How to report violations

If you have any concerns or suspicions about someone who may be trading in or producing child abuse images or videos, you can report them confidentially to Customs on 0800 WE PROTECT (0800 937 768) or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

Sexual Abuse: Where Can You Get Help?

If there is an emergency and you think you or someone else is in danger, call 111.

If you have ever experienced sexual abuse or assault and would like to talk to someone, you can contact Safe to Talk confidentially at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week:

You can also contact your local police station. Click here for a list.

Are you a victim of sexual abuse? Remember that it is not your fault.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, mainly reporting on police, judiciary, human interest and social issues.