A Rotorua man has been sentenced to prison for possessing and exporting videos depicting child sexual abuse after US authorities flagged the man's activity.
The 37-year-old was today sentenced at Rotorua District Court and given a term of three years and seven months imprisonment, according to Customs.
The agency said it carried out a search warrant on the man's home address in Rotorua in March 2021, after an IP address was found to be uploading child sexual exploitation videos to an overseas-based social media platform.
Customs' chief child exploitation operations team officer Simon Peterson said forensic analysis of the man's electronic devices had played a key role in its investigation.
"During the search warrant, our investigators located a mobile phone linked to the social media account and arrested the man on site. They also took an SD card and three further mobile phones for electronic forensic analysis," he said in a media release.
"This confirmed the man had been in possession of 143 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, some of which were of the most extreme category of abuse.
"The strength of evidence provided by Customs investigators played a significant role in this sentencing result, following a referral by the US-based National Centre of Missing and Exploited Children. This man now faces prison time for his crimes."
Any publication that promotes or supports the exploitation of children for sexual purposes is deemed objectionable under New Zealand law.
Objectionable publications are also prohibited from import or export under the Customs and Excise Act 2018 and can carry a maximum penalty of ten years imprisonment.
Peterson continued: "The impact of this abuse can be devastating and have a profound, lifelong effect on the victims.
"Online child sexual exploitation represents a serious and growing form of violence against children worldwide.
"Customs combats this type of crime as a priority, but we can’t do it alone. Close cooperation with our local partners including police, Department of Internal Affairs and international agencies is critical in preventing and disrupting this horrendous crime."
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