Richard Thomas King, 52, from Avondale was sentenced today in the Auckland District Court to two years and five months’ imprisonment for knowingly possessing and distributing child sex abuse and exploitation imagery.

Mr King was ordered by the court to register as a child sex offender.

The defendant pled guilty to two charges of possession of child sexual abuse images and two charges of making a copy of child sexual abuse images for the purpose of distribution.

Mr King attempted to upload images depicting child sexual abuse to an online platform, which was detected by the website and reported to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the United States, who referred the case to the Department of Internal Affairs.

Following an investigation by Internal Affairs, Mr King's computer and mobile phone were seized. Internal Affairs investigators recovered over 100 images of child sexual abuse, despite Mr King's attempt to delete them.

"These images depict real children being abused," says Tim Houston, Manager of the Department’s Censorship Unit. "This is not a victimless crime.

"Our investigators have the skill and expertise to identify and catch anyone who partakes in this type of illegal activity.

"We, along with NZ Police and Customs, are focussed in our efforts to protect New Zealanders and eradicate child sexual abuse and exploitation materials," says Mr Houston.

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