Home detention for sharing child sex abuse images

A 51-year-old Auckland man, who was part of an on-line child sexual abuse network, was today sentenced in the North Shore District Court to one year’s home detention and 400 hours of community work after pleading guilty to two representative charges of distributing and possessing objectionable material.

Michael James Beer, 51, scaffolding manager of Albany, was first detected in October 2012 when he sent an undercover Internal Affairs’ inspector objectionable pictures of children in sexualised poses or engaged in sexual acts. He was also exchanging child sexual abuse material with other offenders on the Internet including two Americans who were dealt with by US law enforcement.

Judge Owen Hinton adjourned the case yesterday so he could consider whether Beer should be sentenced to jail or home detention.

Beer became caught up in Operation Hyper, a multi-agency New Zealand operation begun in June 2013 following a tip-off from Queensland Police. Operation Hyper involved Internal Affairs, Customs and Police and lead to arrests in Auckland, North Shore, Levin and West Yorkshire in the UK.

Internal Affairs said Beer’s computer and data storage devices showed he had repeatedly accessed Internet-based sites dedicated to the exchange of child sexual abuse images. He admitted sending and receiving material with people on the Internet and, while he knew it was illegal, said he retained the images for a short time only before deleting them.

Internal Affairs’ Community Safety Manager, Steve O’Brien, said people who view or distribute objectionable pictures perpetuate a market for child sexual abuse material.

“People, who look at it, pass it on and use it, encourage those who actually photograph the children and therefore they condone the abuse children suffer,” he said. “If you deal in this material you can expect to get caught. We are part of an international team working to catch offenders and have dedicated inspectors with the expertise to bring you to justice.”

ENDS

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