The newly appointed Deputy Police Commissioner has refused to comment on the sentencing of his predecessor, Jevon McSkimming.
Meanwhile, a victim’s advocate has criticised the sentence, calling it “wrong on so many levels”.
McSkimming was sentenced to nine months’ home detention at a court hearing yesterday.
He pleaded guilty to three representative charges of possessing objectionable material, after an investigation revealed he had used his work devices to search for bestiality and child sex abuse images.
Newly appointed Deputy Police Commissioner Mike Pannett told Newstalk ZB’s Heather du Plessis-Allan he would not comment on the judges’ decision.
“That’s a matter for the courts … you know, it’s very much with the courts to determine, without knowing any other detail.”
He also declined to comment on whether the courts had diverged on what constituted appropriate punishments.
Pannett said taking on the role meant confronting the work required to restore public trust in police.
“I’m aware there are some big challenges ahead of us, and policing is even more complex and dynamic.
“I’m up for that challenge, but the commitment to work with the Commissioner and 15,000 of our staff is really important.”
McSkimming’s lawyer said his client had a pornography addiction that “simply overwhelmed him”.
A report into McSkimming’s offending said he showed an “entitled attitude” and centred the impact of the offending on himself and his loved ones, rather than the victims of child sex offending. He also admitted to starting to seek objectionable material 10 years ago, despite the charges only dating back five years.
The case ignited a national scandal last month when heavy court suppressions were lifted, allowing it to be reported for the first time that police had ignored complaints about McSkimming from a former affair partner, instead laying criminal charges against her before properly investigating her claims.
The disgraced ex-cop appeared in the Wellington District Court this afternoon for sentencing before Judge Tim Black.
Victims’ advocate Louise Nicholas told Michael Morrah on Herald NOW she was “really disappointed” in McSkimming’s home detention sentence.
The former top cop should’ve gone to jail, and his victims had been let down, she said.
“It actually makes me laugh that they were worried about him going to prison because of who he is.
“That’s wrong on so many levels. He’s committed a crime, and regardless of who he is and what he was as a police officer, you go to jail, and you do your time with … don’t worry about the harm or the violence – I’m not a violent person, but what happens in jail … you just shouldn’t have done it, simple.”
Nicholas didn’t believe McSkimming was genuinely remorseful, a factor which reduced his sentence, but rather “hacked off he got caught”.
“It’s ‘oh woe, poor me’ – it’s not actually about the victims”, Nicholas said.
“There are children out there that he has helped [sex offenders do] harm against them.
“He should be put on the child victims’ register, absolutely … they’re not taking into account the harm of the children that he watched being hurt in a violent, violent way. And that is wrong.”
Nicholas gained a public profile after she alleged police officers raped her when she was in her teens. Four men were later acquitted, but her case still sparked an inquiry into how police treat victims of sexual violence.