Man jailed for 25 months over child porn charges

File photo / NZ Herald

A 26-year-old unemployed Auckland man has been jailed after investigators found 80,000 pictures and 1200 movies of children being sexually abused on his computer.

Browns Bay resident Aaron Potter was jailed for 25 months after pleading guilty to 40 charges of distributing and possessing objectionable publications in North Shore District Court yesterday.

The Department of Internal Affairs executed two search warrants on Potter in 2010 after receiving complaints about a New Zealander posting objectionable material on the Internet.

He was already facing prosecution when an inspector, operating on the Internet, caught him again.

Forensic examination of his computer showed he had over 80,000 picture files and 1200 movies showing children being sexually abused.

Judge Laurie Hinton accepted Potter was a "troubled young man".

He adopted a starting point of three years' imprisonment for the offending, then reduced the sentence 11 months for Potter's early guilty plea and his personal circumstances.

Internal Affair regulatory and compliance manager Maarten Quivooy said New Zealand investigators were part of a world-wide effort to stop the distribution of sexual images of children.

"We work in partnership with Interpol and other agencies targeting those involved in this trade. People who deal in or download this material should expect to be caught."

- HERALD ONLINE