Former Police Commissioner Andrew Coster has called the criminal case against ex-Deputy Commissioner Jevon McSkimming “a really disturbing situation”.
Coster, who held the top job while McSkimming was in the role beneath him, appeared on Herald NOW this morning for an interview in his new capacity as secretary for social investment.
Host Ryan Bridge asked Coster how he felt finding out McSkimming was accused of possessing objectionable material on his work devices.
“Look, obviously it’s a really disturbing situation but as you would know, I can’t talk about it while it’s in front of the courts, and it would be unfair of me to do that, so we need to let those processes take their course,” Coster replied.
Bridge pressed Coster several times, asking if he ever suspected any wrongdoing, noting that at least some of the alleged offending covered some of the time Coster was working closely with McSkimming.
“I just can’t comment on that, I’m not allowed to do that while it’s before the court,” Coster said.
Bridge also asked if Coster was “mates” with McSkimming and whether it made him uncomfortable seeing McSkimming walking into court. Coster reiterated he could not comment while the matter was before the courts.
“I’m not going to go into this until it’s resolved,” he said.
McSkimming was revealed on Monday to be the prominent New Zealander the media had reported on at his earlier court appearance.
The ex-top cop faces eight charges of possessing child exploitation and bestiality material.
McSkimming, 52, first appeared by audio-visual link in the Wellington District Court in early July, but was granted interim name suppression as well as suppression of his charges.
Suppression was due to be argued in court on Monday, with major media companies joining together to oppose the order continuing, but McSkimming’s lawyer, Letizea Ord, told Judge Tim Black they were no longer pursuing suppression.
The order forbidding publication of his name and identifying features, as well as the nature of his charges, lapsed immediately.
It can now be reported that he faces eight charges of possessing objectionable material containing child exploitation material and bestiality. Most of the charges have specific dates, while one is listed as the alleged offending having happened any time between July 2020 and December 2024.
McSkimming had been suspended on full pay since December while under investigation for a separate 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.
The Herald earlier reported that detectives had allegedly discovered pornographic material on his electronic work devices.
Among the images was material that was, at that time, being assessed as to whether or not it could be classified as objectionable.
McSkimming, who immediately resigned upon discovery of the material, then sought an injunction preventing media from reporting the nature of the alleged material, which was declined by High Court Justice Karen Grau.
Robert Stewart KC, who represented the media at the injunction hearing, had 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, McSkimming’s lawyer, Linda Clark, said the injunction was necessary to protect her client’s right to a fair trial and the court’s processes.
“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.”
On the same day 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 last 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 reintroduction of audits of data and internet usage on police devices. This had been previously halted around five years ago, Chambers said.
In a statement on Monday, Chambers said, “The prosecution of Mr Jevon McSkimming shows no member of the police is above the law, no matter how senior.
“Given the matter is still before the courts, I am not able to make further comment at this point.”
Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.