Northland primary school teacher who exported and possessed child sexual exploitation images loses name suppression

Former Ngunguru School teacher Kirk Broadfoot has been convicted of exporting and possessing child sexual exploitation images.

A Northland primary school teacher convicted of exporting and possessing child sexual exploitation images - including many from the worst possible category - can now be named.

Kirk Broadfoot, who was teaching at Ngunguru Primary School pleaded guilty to seven charges of knowingly exporting objectionable publications from New Zealand and one charge of possession of an objectionable publication.

On June 7, this year, 2022, Judge Greg Davis sentenced him to 10 months’ home detention and declined an application for permanent name suppression.

Broadfoot appealed against that decision to the High Court, on the grounds of personal hardship reasons related to a close relative. The application was declined.

In the decision, released this week to the Northern Advocate, Justice Layne Harvey said child sexual exploitation material is a term for any publication that promotes or supports, or tends to promote or support, the exploitation of children or young persons for sexual purposes and is deemed to be an objectionable publication as defined by the Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993.

Importantly, child sexual exploitation material is the consequence of the very real exploitation and/or sexual abuse perpetrated against a child, Justice Harvey said.

Charges 1 – 7 related to a period between July 31, 2021, and August 13, 2021, when Broadfoot uploaded (and thus exported) 37 publications depicting child sexual exploitation material to an overseas social media platform. The possession charge, charge 8, relates to when he was found on September 23, 2021, to be in possession of at least 94 objectionable child sexual exploitation material publications which he had obtained.

The judge said it is unnecessary to recount the full details of the examples of publications which Broadfoot uploaded and was found to possess.

‘’However, regarding the categories of the UK Sentencing Guidelines which are used as a guide, there were 37 images exported by Broadfoot, and 94 found in his possession ranging across Category A (images involving penetrative sexual activity or involving sexual activity with an animal, or sadism); Category B (images involving non-penetrative sex); and Category C (indecent images not falling within categories A or B).’’

Justice Harvey said after careful reflection, and a review of the authorities, by a narrow margin, he was not prepared to grant the appeal.

‘’In the careful balancing required, in my assessment, the principles of open justice and the need to protect the community from any future potential risk must remain paramount and tip the scales in favour of publication,’’ the judge said.

The school opposed continuing name suppression.