Todd Williams sentenced to prison for nearly 9000 child abuse images

Todd Williams was sentenced at Auckland District Court to three years and seven months' imprisonment over child abuse material charges. Photo / Marika Khabazi, RNZ

An Auckland man has been sentenced to more than three years in prison for possessing nearly 9000 images of child sexual exploitation material.

It comes after an investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) and an international law enforcement agency into the sale of child sexual exploitation material through a social media app.

Todd Keith Laurance Dale Williams, 30, pleaded guilty to four charges of knowingly possessing child exploitation material after being found with 8928 images and videos across multiple devices and accounts.

It included photos and videos of adults sexually abusing babies and children.

In early 2023, Williams was a person of interest in the investigation, and later, DIA received a report from the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children about an objectionable video uploaded to social media.

The account responsible for uploading the file was attributed to Williams.

DIA digital child exploitation team manager Tim Houston said those who download this material perpetuated the crimes committed against those children.

“Every image and video possessed by this offender depicts a crime scene, and the worst moment in a child’s life,” he said.

“DIA works closely with partners here in New Zealand and overseas to take a proactive role to identify and prosecute New Zealanders who trade objectionable material to ensure children are not revictimised by those seeking to derive sickening gratification from their suffering.”

The devices Williams used to store and access the child sexual exploitation material will be destroyed, by order of the judge.

Williams was sentenced at the Auckland District Court to three years and seven months’ imprisonment and was ordered to register as a child sex offender.

– RNZ