MEDIA RELEASE 27 January 2012

International cooperation sees NZ offender jailed

A tipoff to the Department of Internal Affairs from American authorities has resulted in an Auckland man being jailed (yesterday) for 14 months for possessing objectionable publications.

Lyle Allen Price, aged 39, a hotel supervisor of Mangere Bridge, was sentenced in the Auckland District Court by Judge Phil Gittos after pleading guilty to 20 representative possession charges.

Judge Gittos said deterrence and denunciation had to take primacy, given Price’s previous convictions for sexual offending.

The USA’s National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children told Internal Affairs that a New Zealand registered electronic address had uploaded objectionable images to an online platform. Subsequent investigations by Internal Affairs led to inspectors seizing Price’s computers and identifying 350 items showing males between six and 13 years engaged in sexual acts or poses.

Internal Affairs’ General Manager for Regulatory and Compliance Operations, Maarten Quivooy, said the case is another example of the international community cooperating to combat the sexual abuse of children.

“The Department is an integral part of a world-wide effort in combating this problem,” Maarten Quivooy said. “We work in partnership with Interpol and other agencies targeting those involved in this trade.

“Distributing child sexual abuse images is an international crime requiring an international response; it is not about people simply looking at pictures, as children are real victims in these cases.

“The Department wants to send a strong message that distributing child sexual abuse images is a crime that harms real children. We will be continuing our vigilance to protect child victims and to detect and hold people accountable for these crimes. People, who think they’re safe in the confines of their own home, indulging in this objectionable practice on the Internet, should think again.”

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