Businessman seeks permanent name suppression over porn charges

File photo / NZ Herald

A prominent businessman caught with illegal pornography will go to court early next month in an effort to have his identity kept permanently secret.

The married Waikato company director pleaded guilty to 26 charges after a home detention sentence indication by Judge Peter Rollo in Tauranga District Court last month.

The man sought permanent name suppression after admitting five charges of knowingly possessing objectionable materials, 13 charges of knowingly being in possession of objectionable images for supply or distribution, and eight of knowingly distributing objectionable images.

The charges relate to pornographic pictures and movie files found on the man's laptop and external hard-drives and other storage devices depicting bestiality, child sexual abuse and adult sexual images.

The man will be sentenced on March 5 but three days later he will go to the High Court at Rotorua and seek to overturn a decision last week by Judge Rollo to lift name suppression.

In Judge Rollo's written decision, released to the Bay of Plenty Times, he said publication of the defendant's name and location may have some adverse effect on the man and his wife's businesses, but to what extent, if any, was "speculative".

"But in any event, adverse personal and financial consequences can be expected to flow from serious criminal offending."

Judge Rollo said after weighing up all factors he was satisfied the clear balance fell in favour of publication.

"The healthy winds of publicity should flow through the court in this instance."