Jailed for possessing and making child sex abuse movies

A Tauranga man was jailed yesterday for two years and two months on multiple charges involving child sexual abuse movies and other images.

Gregory Todd Stewart, 48, self-employed, of Welcome Bay had earlier pleaded guilty to four charges of making and 12 of possessing objectionable publications.

Judge Thomas Ingram in the Tauranga District Court said Stewart’s offending required a sentence of imprisonment. It was clearly premeditated behaviour and the community needed protection from this type of offending.

An Internal Affairs publications inspector discovered Stewart downloading movie and image files from the Internet. Stewart was tracked to a Papamoa Beach address where he admitted collecting and possessing objectionable material. A search of Stewart’s computer equipment revealed he had made four DVDs containing 26 movies of girls between four and 14 years old involved in sexual activity with adult males, had about 11,000 sexual image files of girls ranging from seven through to late teens and an extensive history of seeking and acquiring child abuse images and material.

Internal Affairs Community Safety Manager, Steve O’Brien, said the sentence was a warning to other similar offenders who think they’re safe in the confines of their home.

“People may think they’re anonymous on the Internet but they should think again,” he said. “We have demonstrated we can track them down and get the necessary evidence, despite best efforts to conceal offending.

“Trading or viewing child sex abuse images is not passive offending, or a victimless crime, because it involves real children forced into degrading acts and condones the abuse they suffer.”

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