Man accused of grooming boy for sex, making and sharing child porn'

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A man has been accused of luring an East Coast boy away from his parents to have sex with him and other related offences, including making an objectionable video of the youngster.

The 38-year-old accused, who cannot currently be named, appeared briefly via AV-link from a prison remand unit during a Crown scheduling fixture in Gisborne District Court on Friday.

Charges — to which he has yet to plead — include allegations that between August 9 and 14 last year the man twice abducted the boy from his parents with intent to have sex with him, once having fraudulently obtained the boy’s consent; twice burgled an East Coast house; indecently assaulted the boy three times; made an objectionable video of him; drove while disqualified; possessed 24 objectionable still images and 50 objectionable videos

The man also faces a charge that between December 16, 2022, and August 14 this year he distributed 48 objectionable publications.

Further charges were laid more recently for meeting a young person for sex after grooming them, and leaving a search location after being told by police to remain.

Judge Turitea Bolstad granted the man interim name suppression but whether he gets to keep his name secret will be decided at another callover on March 23.

Prosecutor Steve Manning said the Crown would oppose continuance of the order.

It would also seek to have the second more recent set of charges “joined” to the first set as they arose out of the same general circumstances.

Counsel Holly Tunstall cited two grounds for the interim order — fair trial rights and extreme hardship to the defendant.

Ms Tunstall said that if the sets of charges remained severed, publication of the man’s name in relation to the first proceedings could affect his fair trial rights in relation to the second.

Publication of the man’s name would also likely result in him being harmed, she said. He had already been assaulted while on remand in prison for these charges and had been unsuccessful in his application for transfer to a different remand unit.