Judge Clark said the victims of this offending are victimised every time their abuse is viewed on the internet and this child carries this burden for the rest of their life. The defendants have, by possessing imagery of child sexual abuse, fuelled an international demand for such imagery, she said.
Ryan Anderson/Stuff
Crown prosecutor Jasper Rhodes said it s hard to imagine worse material. In December 2019, the police were tipped-off by a member of the public and searched their pair’s home. A laptop, hard drive and an iPhone containing hundreds of videos and images of child sexual abuse, along with half a gram of methamphetamine, were found.
The two 24-year-olds were arrested and charged in December in relation to offending which allegedly occurred between December 2012 and February 2013. The pair are co-accused of jointly offending with another man of having sexual connection with a young person under 16. Both have denied the charge. On Thursday at the Waitākere District Court, Judge Josephine Bouchier granted interim name suppression as she had concerns about the pair’s fair trial rights. Lawyers for the pair also entered not guilty pleas and elected a trial by jury. At the hearing, lawyer Ron Mansfield sought interim name suppression for his client through until the end of the trial and any appeals on the basis of fair trial rights and extreme hardship.
However, Judge Ema Aitken declined the request and said the matter did not reach the required threshold by a “significant margin”. She said the executor of the man s estate claimed people would not turn up to the man’s funeral due to fear of being stigmatised. Judge Aitken said embarrassment and shame were not grounds to continue name suppression. Cresswell indicated she had instructions from the executor of the man’s will to file an appeal with the High Court. The appeal is unlikely to be heard before the funeral takes place. The former Scout master denied two charges of indecently assaulting a boy in the 1970s.