A police officer of nearly four decades, who pleaded guilty to possessing objectionable publications, is seeking to be discharged without conviction.
By Lucy Xia of RNZ
Auckland-based officer Matthew Rogers was one of three police staff to be charged following the rapid review carried out by police in October 2025.
The review was sparked by the resignation of former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming, after child sexual exploitation and bestiality material were found on his work devices.
Court documents revealed that between August 2023 and October 2025, Rogers used a police-issued device to conduct searches for pornographic and sexualised material.
Searches included "nude teen", and there were nine images he'd viewed that matched what was previously categorised as Category 2B Child Sexual Abuse Material.
At a sentencing hearing on Monday at the Manukau District Court, Rogers' lawyer Todd Simmonds KC prefaced his arguments for discounts and a discharge without conviction, emphasising that nothing put forward is an attempt to minimise what's occurred.
He asked Judge Clare Bennett to consider the context of "relatively modest" number of images involved in Rogers' case, the fact that images weren't downloaded, and that the scale of offending is "not an apple with an apple" compared to the McSkimming case which involved thousands of objectionable images.
"This could be far, far worse is the short point I make," he said. Simmonds said what mattered most for Rogers is that the presence of a conviction would make a "material difference" to his future employment, and is seeking discharge without conviction.
He said Rogers resigned a couple of months ago after nearly 40 years of service to the community.
Conviction could impact job prospects
Simmonds said many job applications require applicants to disclose previous convictions, and that this is not a case of the horse having bolted with previous reporting on Rogers' offending, but that a conviction would still make a material difference to Rogers' job prospects.
When Judge Bennett asked what kind of work Rogers would be seeking, Simmonds replied that Rogers doesn't have an answer to that yet and is looking to explore what opportunities come his way.
Police prosecutor Kristy Li said they need to see evidence of Rogers not being able to secure employment and how the consequences of a conviction will make a difference to Rogers' future work.
She asked for the sentencing to be adjourned to wait for that material.
Simmonds said he will clarify that with Rogers, and Judge Bennett has adjourned the sentencing to November.
Rogers has been remanded at large.
Meanwhile, Simmonds also made a series of arguments for mitigating factors for a reduction to the potential sentence of 12 to 18 months as a starting point sought by the prosecution.
He proposed a 25% reduction for Rogers' early guilty plea.
Simmonds said Rogers' nearly four decades of service to the community also speaks to his previous good character; adding that Rogers is genuinely remorseful in his own way, and asked for a discreet reduction for those factors.
In total, Simmonds is seeking a total discount of 40% for his client.
He acknowledged that there were aggravating features of Rogers' offending and that there was a degree of pre-meditation in some of the search terms used.
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