Man convicted in Tauranga of child sexual abuse and exploitation material

This is used to find visually similar images to the images being uploaded. A user who uploads images of child sex abuse is actively searching for similar material, according to a summary of facts.

Most of the material found on the man’s laptop contained still images rather than moving images, and was considered category C; these are children posing in sexual ways.

However, there were also offensive images depicting female children engaging in sexual acts, which are considered more serious – category B. There was also a category A image depicting sexual intercourse between an adult man and a child.

He had a total of 8505 images and was convicted in the Tauranga District Court on Monday of one charge of possession of indecent images.

The man’s lawyer, Ian Brookie, said the man showed genuine remorse and said he “should have taken a long hard look at himself already”.

It had been a “tumultuous time” for him because he was a family man, and it had affected his relationship with his wife and children.

“It had a very strong influence on him,” Brookie said.

The man had taken steps to try to “shed some light” on the offense and why he found himself in this situation.

He had made progress in rehabilitation, but the publication of his name would have serious consequences for his mental health, Brookie said.

He referred to a psychologist’s report which outlined the risks of self-harm and suicide.

Looking at the affidavits submitted by the man and his wife about the suicidal thoughts the man had when his offending was discovered, the risks were “sufficient to raise the risk (of self-harm) to an intolerable level”.

The man had a conversation with the psychologist so that a report could be drawn up for the conviction, and after that conversation the man went to the hospital with palpitations.

“There’s a very physical manifestation of the stress associated with it,” Brookie said.

“The real focus for him is this fear of publication and the impact that would have.”

He feared that he would be cut off from his friends and that he would “never be able to work again.”

His wife believed that his risk of self-harm if his name were published would be even greater than the risk had been when his offending first came to light.

Brookie noted that this was not a case where there was public interest in having his name published so that other victims could come forward and expose more crimes.

Nor did he have a job in which he “traded in his good character.”

Judge Melinda Mason accepted the man was genuinely remorseful and was “shocked and deeply ashamed”.

He had undergone extensive treatment with a psychologist, was in constant rehabilitation, was busy and had a safety plan in place to prevent further violations.

The judge said he had shared this plan with his wife and recognized her as his “strongest supporter” and described her as “very courageous”.

The man had come to terms with the fact that this was not a “victimless crime” and immediately entered rehabilitation after his offending was discovered.

A pre-sentence report found he had a low risk of reoffending. The judge also noted his previous good character and lack of previous convictions.

The judge used a prison sentence of twelve months as a starting point.

She gave a 10% discount for previous good character, 15% for rehabilitation and 25% for his early guilty plea.

That reached a term of six months, but she accepted that a sentence of community detention was more appropriate than house arrest given the nature of the offense and the circumstances that often lead to it.

She received a final sentence of three months community detention.

Community detention is an electronically monitored punishment that imposes a curfew on the suspect.

Hannah Bartlett is a Tauranga-based Open Justice reporter at NZME. Previously she was responsible for the court and local government Nelson Mailand before that he was a radio reporter at Newstalk