The High Court delivers another blow to the Government’s covid response, why bollards aren’t an easy fix for ram raids and review underway following tragic deaths at our ports in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
A Christchurch businessman jailed for a raft of child sex abuse charges, including repeatedly filming himself raping and abusing a young girl has abandoned his appeal to keep his name secret.
Wayne Smith, the former chief executive of Christchurch company Connexionz, was due to appear in the Christchurch High courton Thursday in a bid to keep name suppression and appeal against his sentence.
Smith 53, was jailed for 17 years in February, after he admitted 38 serious charges, including abusing the girl and possessing a cache of at least 180,000 images of baby and child exploitation and bestiality.
Wayne Smith appearing in court on the sex charges. Photo / Supplied
Connexionz Executive Chair Tony Kan said that Smith had been the company CEO for two and half years before he was dismissed on the grounds of committing a gross breach of trust.
Kan said in a statement "police had told Connexionz early in their investigation they were satisfied the company was an innocent party".
Connexionz lawyer Richard Smedley had told Judge Neave when the Company first heard of the defendant's arrest and the charges it agreed to support his wife and protect their innocent family through an application for a permanent suppression order.
"The Company had no inkling of Smith's offending, and it was shocked at its nature and extent.
"The offending was so well hidden from all of those involved with the Company including its employees, directors and shareholders, that when the offending came to light, some staff immediately burst into tears and others booked appointments with onsite trauma counsellors," said Smedley.
Previously, Smith was CEO of Aeropath and has also held senior international roles with Airways, Thales, and Hewlett Packard.
Wayne Smith was dismissed from his CEO role in July 2021. Photo / Supplied
At sentencing in February, Smith was described in court as "depraved" and a "monster".
He was convicted of five charges of raping a child and 33 other charges, including multiple counts of unlawful sexual connection, of performing an indecent act on a child, representative charges of making and possessing objectionable publications and a final charge of unlawful sexual conduct with a child outside of New Zealand.
At sentencing in the Christchurch District Court Judge Raoul Neave said the offending had "the full gambit of indecencies".
"It's completely devastated a family - and he filmed it," he said.
He said the facts of the case were "distressing" and the offending was "highly planned and premeditated".
The "most disturbing feature" was that he "filmed all of it".
He said the abuse was "ghastly" and "the greatest breach of trust imaginable".
"She is so small, she was so young ... She will always remember ... we are forever changed and the full impact of this is yet to be felt."
He said the man was a reminder that "monsters do exist" and he was devastated his little girl had found that out at such a young age and in such a horrendous way.
Connexionz, which has a New Zealand operation based at Addington, offers intelligent transit solutions. It claims to produce "the world's most reliable and accurate real-time arrival predictions".
It designed the system that operates Christchurch's central city bus Interchange, bringing bus into bays along the L-shaped building, and keeping waiting passengers updated on arrival times and bays.
The company has operations based in Santa Clarita, California, and in Denver, Colorado.
SEXUAL HARM - DO YOU NEED HELP?
If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.
