Custodial Sentence for Child Pornography

Today in Rotorua Wayne Keith Fugill was convicted of possessing child pornography and sentenced to six months in prison - but with leave to apply for home detention. Earlier this year Fugill’s flatmate Scott Jopson was convicted and sentenced to 20 months imprisonment. This contrasts sharply with a case in Te Puke earlier this month in which David Gerard Hide received only 250 hours of community service sentence. Jane Foster, National Director of ECPAT New Zealand said;

“This is not a victimless crime - children were terribly abused and exploited to produce the images Wayne Fugill possessed. ECPAT welcomes the use of a custodial sentence – it reflects the severity of this crime. But as a serious crime against children we believe home detention is not appropriate.”

In February 2005 the Films, Videos and Publications Classification Amendment Bill introduced new penalties for the production, trading and possession of Child Pornography. Penalties now include up to 10 years for producing material and 5 years for possession. This change brought our legislation into line with other countries such as Australia, Canada and the UK.

ENDS

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