A Tauranga labourer caught with more than 2000 pornographic images and videos, who also shared a raft of other images online, has been jailed for more than three years.
That included three images and a video depicting acts of torture or infliction of extreme violence and bestiality.
Graeme Ross Allen, 46, who earlier pleaded guilty to eight charges, was sentenced in Tauranga District Court yesterday when he appeared before Judge Thomas Ingram.
There were two charges of possessing objectionable publications with knowledge and six charges of knowingly supplying and distributing objectionable publications.
Allen's offending was committed between July 13, 2016, and September 28 last year.
He created a profile on a Canadian-based internet messenger software file-sharing application called Kik Interactive and used it to share photos with other Kik users.
That including sharing one objectionable image seven times using the profile name "southparkisbest" between July 13 and 16 last year.
Kik referred the matter to the Canadian authorities, who in turn contacted their New Zealand counterparts.
When his user profile was shut down by Kik, Allen created several other profiles with United States-based instant messenger software called Chatstep.
On several occasions between December 20, 2016, and June 10 last year, he shared photos of naked or partly clothed girls and images of children engaged in sexual acts with adults.
Last September, police executed a search warrant at Allen's home assisted by the Department of Internal Affairs' digital child exploitation team.
Some electronic items were seized and 1121 objectionable images and video files were found on two of the electronic devices, including 990 images and videos depicting children posing in a sexualised manner.
Between June and August last year the defendant also used the Kik messenger to send 83 messages containing similar content.
An online storage account linked to two of Allen's email addresses also revealed 919 objectionable video and picture files, some depicting acts of torture and bestiality.
After hearing legal arguments from Allen's lawyer Jason Owers and crown prosecutor Hayley Sheridan, Judge Thomas Ingram sentenced Allen to three years and six months prison.
Mr Owers argued the Crown's suggested sentence was "too high" compared with other, more serious, cases.
Allen, who had been prescribed medication for his anxiety and depression which he had not been taking had become "somewhat isolated" and began viewing pornography online.
Judge Ingram told Allen these offences were serious.
Parliament had recently increased the penalties to 10 years prison for possession of child-abuse exploitation images and videos and 14 years for distribution, the judge said.
He accepted Allen was "as remorseful as he could be". The judge also allowed Allen discounts for his guilty pleas, co-operation and being a first-time offender in regards to these type of offences.