Australian jailed in NZ for 'horrendous' images

An Australian man has been jailed in NZ for more than two years. Photo / iStock

An Australian man who brought "horrendous" images of mutilated female bodies and child-abuse material into New Zealand has been jailed for more than two years.

IT consultant Thomas Arpad Meyer, 56, flew into the country in April expecting to do a week of contract work but instead he was stopped by Customs who found more than 4000 offensive images on his laptop and USB drives.

Some of those files were classified in the highest possible category of offending of its kind and he was charged with eight counts of importing an objectionable publication.

The court heard there were pictures of women - alive and dead - being burned, mutilated, tortured, bound and raped; as well as photos of children also being sexually abused.

Meyer's lawyer Shardae Oliver argued for a reduction in her client's sentence because of his "genuine remorse", even though he had previous similar convictions in Australia and had undertaken therapy.

That was contested by Customs prosecutor Jasmin Priest who said he minimised his offending by comparing himself to other kinds of sex offenders.

"The images that form the basismeyer20 of the charges are horrendous," she said.

"He said it happened because he was upset with God and there was a breakdown of his relationship."

Meyer also made a late bid for permanent name suppression citing the lasting impact any publication might have on his employment and on his son.

However, Judge Edwin Paul "firmly rejected" any submission regarding remorse and slammed the defendant over his attempt to keep his identity secret.

"It is somewhat ironic a man's offending is facilitated by the internet and now he seeks to be shielded from the effects of the internet in terms of his future employment and the support of his family," the judge said.

During interviews with probation, Meyer explained his behaviour as having a fascination in crime scenes involving dead women, which he had harboured since the age of 20.

But Judge Paul, who described the objectionable images were "unusual and very disturbing", said that view was indicative of his "significant cognitive distortion".

"Clearly these images were for this man's perverse enjoyment," the judge said.

"They're clearly not pornography, they're images of crime."

A pre-sentence report indicated there was a high likelihood Meyer would offend in the future.

He will likely serve a third of the 29-month sentence before being deported.