The main was sentenced at the Wellington District Court on Friday. (File photo) Photo: RNZ / Richard Tindiller
A Kāpiti Coast man has been jailed for possessing more than 30,000 objectionable photos and videos, including what Customs says is "some of the worst child sexual abuse content known to law enforcement globally."
The 32-year-old man was sentenced at the Wellington District Court on Thursday to nine years and five months' imprisonment in for a number of charges including the importation, distribution and possession of objectionable material and refusing to provide Customs with access to a computer system.
Customs said the man was already on the child sex offender register. His registration would continue and be "informed by this new conviction," it said.
Customs identified the man's activity in February 2023, and carried out a search warrant at his home.
Officers seized five electronic devices, after the man refused five times to hand them over.
They examined them at his home and arrested him on the spot after objectionable material was found on one of the devices.
Customs said further forensic analysis uncovered 31,238 objectionable image and video files including extreme sexual abuse of children and infants, some of which had been shared through a private messaging application. The video files amounted to 78 days of content.
The head of Customs' child exploitation operations team, Simon Peterson said the man was importing the material and distributing it to people overseas.
"Much of this material is highly distressing and included some of the worst child sexual abuse content known to law enforcement globally," he said.
"None of this offending is harmless - these are not just bad pictures or videos: they capture real children being horrifically harmed, and the existence of this material continues to cause enduring harm to those victims."
Where to get help: Sexual Violence
- NZ Police.
- Victim Support 0800 842 846.
- Rape Crisis: 0800 88 33 00.
- Rape Prevention Education.
- Empowerment Trust.
- HELP (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655.
- Safe to talk: 0800 044 334.
- Tautoko Tāne Male Survivors Aotearoa.
- Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496.
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