A 35-year-old Auckland man was sentenced in the Auckland District Court yesterday (16 December 2025) for importing material relating to child sexual abuse and bestiality. He received a sentence of three years and nine-and-a-half months’ imprisonment.

He arrived at Auckland International Airport on 31 May 2025 after spending more than a month overseas. During a search, Customs officers found several electronic devices and multiple electronic storage devices in his possession.

When questioned about the child sexual exploitation material found on his mobile phone, he admitted downloading it. He was arrested by Customs officers for importing objectionable publications.

A total of 21,482 objectionable images and video files were located across six devices. Over 15,000 of these were child sexual exploitation material and about 40 per cent of those fell into the most extreme categories of child sexual abuse involving children and infants. This is one of the largest importations of objectionable publications ever seized at Auckland International Airport.

Chief Customs Officer, Child Exploitation Operations Team, Simon Peterson, says this arrest demonstrates the critical role of intelligence-led border security, strong partnerships, and highly skilled officers.

“Through advanced intelligence and close collaboration with our partners, Customs identified this individual as a person of interest in 2024. The moment he re-entered New Zealand in May, Customs officers interviewed and arrested him on site at the border.

“This operation resulted in one of the largest intercepts of objectionable publications at the air border. The material he carried was deeply disturbing and included some of the most extreme child sexual abuse content known to law enforcement worldwide.

“Offending of this nature is never victimless. These are not simply illicit images or videos - they document real children being horrifically abused. Every time this material circulates, it perpetuates harm and trauma or those victims.”

Notes:

• Customs works closely with partners in Police, the Department of Internal Affairs and overseas to combat online child sexual exploitation.
• Any publication that promotes or supports the exploitation of children for sexual purposes is deemed an objectionable publication under the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.
• Objectionable publications are prohibited imports and exports under the Customs and Excise Act 2018. The maximum penalty for the importation or exportation of objectionable publications is ten years’ imprisonment.

Terminology:

• The use of the phrase ‘child pornography’ downplays child sex abuse:
  • It indicates legitimacy and compliance on the victim’s part and therefore suggests legality on the abuser’s part.
  • It conjures up images of children posing in ‘provocative’ positions, rather than the image capturing the suffering of horrific abuse.
• Every publication of these images promotes the sexual exploitation of children and young people and often portrays actual child abuse occurring at the time.

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