Auckland man who distributed child sex abuse imagery jailed

November 22, 2019
A file image of a set of scales in a courtroom.

An Auckland man has been sentenced to more than two years in prison after knowingly possessing and distributing child sex abuse and exploitation imagery.

Richard Thomas King, 52, from Avondale, was sentenced to two years and five months' imprisonment in the Auckland District Court today after pleading 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, the Department of Internal Affairs said in a statement.

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

It comes after King attempted to upload images depicting child sexual abuse to an online platform, which was subsequently detected by the website and reported to the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in the US. The case was then referred to the Department of Internal Affairs.

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

"These images depict real children being abused," the Department of Internal Affairs' Censorship Unit manager, Tim Houston, said.

"This is not a victimless crime.

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

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