Jevon McSkimming resignation: Child sex exploitation and bestiality material allegedly found on work devices of former deputy police commissioner

The objectionable material allegedly found on the electronic work devices of former police deputy commissioner Jevon McSkimming was child sex exploitation and bestiality imagery, the Herald can now reveal.

McSkimming had been suspended on full pay since December while under investigation for a separate criminal allegation although his lawyers said he expected to resume his duties after clearing his name.

The nature of the original allegations, which led to his suspension, cannot be reported currently for legal reasons.

However, McSkimming resigned suddenly in May after being confronted with new allegations which the Police Minister Mark Mitchell described as being of a “very serious nature”.

Mitchell did not disclose the nature of the new allegations.

Police Minister Mark Mitchell. Photo / Mark Mitchell

But the Herald soon reported that detectives investigating the original complaint against McSkimming allegedly discovered pornographic material on his electronic work devices.

Among the images was material that was being assessed as to whether or not it could be classified as objectionable, which could lead to criminal charges.

The alleged pornographic material was not relevant to the original complaint against McSkimming, but was evidence to start a new investigation.

He then resigned soon after the existence of the pornographic material was disclosed to him.

But the nature of the alleged objectionable material - child sex exploitation and bestiality - has been kept secret until now.

This is because Linda Clark, McSkimming’s lawyer, filed an urgent application in the High Court seeking an injunction to stop the media from publishing details about the alleged objectionable material.

The application was not opposed by lawyers for the New Zealand Police and granted on an interim basis by Justice Karen Grau.

Even the fact that McSkimming had sought an injunction against media organisations was suppressed; a rare non-publication order sometimes referred to as a “super injunction”.

The injunction was opposed by NZME, Radio New Zealand and Stuff, which were jointly represented by Robert Stewart KC at the injunction hearing in early June.

Stewart argued there was significant public interest in reporting on the investigations which ultimately led to the forced resignation of a public figure.

“He jumped before he was pushed… the public have a right to understand a little bit more about the material that led to that, or the nature of the allegations that led to that.”

In response, Clark said the injunction was necessary to protect her client’s right to a fair trial and court’s processes, if McSkimming were to be charged with criminal offences.

“Naturally, in an application such as this, public interest will be front of mind and, your Honour, we say that public interest has been served by the amount of information already in the public domain about Mr McSkimming.”

In a 58-paragraph judgment released earlier this month, Justice Grau declined McSkimming’s application for an injunction.

But the High Court judge allowed the injunction to remain in force until 5pm today so his lawyers could consider whether to appeal the decision.

No appeal was lodged by the deadline, however, the reasons for Justice Grau’s decision remain suppressed.

On the same day that McSkimming resigned, Police Commissioner Richard Chambers ordered an independent review of the organisation’s IT systems to ensure there were sufficient security measures to prevent and detect the misuse of police technology.

The review, which was released earlier this month, found that the organisation needed more monitoring of staff internet use and stronger filtering mechanisms to guard against “inappropriate or harmful content” being accessed or downloaded.

The review also recommended better oversight of all police-owned devices, including those which sit outside the police network for legitimate work purposes.

As a result, Chambers said he immediately ordered the re-introduction of audits of data and internet usage on police devices. This had been previously halted around five years ago, Chambers said.

Jared Savage covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006 and has won a dozen journalism awards in that time, including twice being named Reporter of the Year. He is also the author of Gangland, Gangster’s Paradise and Underworld.