A 59-year-old Christchurch man has been sentenced to four years and one month of imprisonment in the Christchurch District Court today on charges of exporting and possessing child sexual abuse publications.

Customs arrested the Merivale man at his home in October 2021 after a referral from overseas authorities that a social media platform and cloud storage site had reported a New Zealander was uploading (exporting) child exploitation material.

Following the search warrant and arrest, a detailed forensic examination of the man’s two phones found at least 1056 objectionable publications depicting child sexual abuse.

Simon Peterson, Chief Customs Officer - Child Exploitation Operations Team, says Customs views the movement across our virtual and physical borders of child sexual exploitation material very seriously.

“This sort of crime is not limited by international borders - and nor are we. Customs is part of an international network of agencies combatting those who sexually abuse children.

“Viewing and sharing child sexual abuse material feeds growing international demand for increasingly disturbing imagery of abhorrent crimes being committed against children.

“This man’s sentence is a warning of the consequences awaiting those who view, download, upload or share child sexual abuse images and videos,” Mr Peterson said.

If you have concerns or suspicions about someone who may be trading in or producing child sexual abuse images or videos, contact Customs confidentially on 0800 WE PROTECT (0800 937 768) or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111. If you are, or know of, someone who is at risk or being abused, contact the Police immediately.

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