As a throng of media clustered outside Wellington District Court on Wednesday with cameras at the ready, the man who was once the second most powerful police officer in the country slipped quietly out the back.
Waiting outside the courthouse for high-profile defendants to leave is an age-old practice for reporters. It is often the only opportunity to ask them to their face to speak about their crimes.
Former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming has made this uncomfortable walk twice now, brushing through the pack of journalists and microphones and fleeing the scene in stony-faced silence.
It is undoubtedly horrible and confronting for defendants to step out the doors to see the waiting lenses and hear the torrent of questions, but it is generally something they must do unless they leave the court in a prison van.
Some choose to give statements shoulder to shoulder with their defence lawyers. Others rush past, often pursued for a block or two before the cameras drop away.
Famously – at least among those involved at the time – rugby player Losi Filipo was able to avoid this scrutiny outside the High Court at Wellington after an assault sentencing in 2016 by swapping clothes with a relative and sneaking away while journalists chased the wrong man up the street.
But for most members of the public engaged in high-profile court cases, it is inevitable that they will have to face the music.
So it was perplexing for gathered media on Wednesday afternoon to watch the clock tick on and see no sign of McSkimming leaving the court for the final time, having been sentenced to nine months of home detention for possessing bestiality and child sex abuse images.
Most reporters stayed until the court had closed for the day, when it became clear McSkimming had been allowed to take another way out of the building.
McSkimming, of course, enjoyed a level of privilege in his high-ranking role – until he didn’t – that allowed him to nearly avoid being caught looking up objectionable material on his work devices.
Transparency in the justice process was even more important in this case than in the average matter making its way through court, because of the astonishing lack of it in the early stages of the police investigation into his conduct.
The Herald contacted the Ministry of Justice the next morning to ask why McSkimming had been afforded the luxury of avoiding the press.
“We can confirm that the presiding judge exercised their discretion in making orders regarding the conclusion of the defendant’s appearance,” a spokesman said.
The Herald asked why the order was made and how often other defendants have been allowed to take a different exit, and why.
Judge Tim Black said in a minute issued on Friday that the driver of his decision was his concern about the safety and security implications of “McSkimming waiting for a period of time in a public area while his documentation was being processed; and... exiting through the main entrance”.
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 dating back only five years.
The 52-year-old earlier 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.
A lawyer for the prosecution said McSkimming’s offending involved a “profound breach of trust” and that while McSkimming was searching for child abuse imagery, other police officers were busy “picking up the pieces” of child sexual abuse around the country.
Any discount for prior good character and remorse should be weighed against comment from the pre-sentence report, the prosecutor said.
That report found McSkimming had an “entitled attitude”, noting he confessed he had started seeking objectionable material in 2015.
While he expressed remorse, the report writer said, he centred the impact on himself and those close to him, and did not express contrition regarding the level of harm caused to the children in images. He also did not acknowledge how his offending contributed towards the “significant ongoing global industry” of child sexual abuse.
Defence lawyer Letizea Ord said most of the images viewed by McSkimming were thumbnails and that he clicked on about 160 of them. She said it was relevant that he did not download or distribute any of the images.
McSkimming “had an addiction to pornography which simply overwhelmed him”, she said.
“He has suffered a very, very significant fall from grace in respect of these matters. He has lost his career. He has lost his financial security for the future. He is likely to be ostracised from the workforce. He has experienced relentless press exposure and public approbation,” Ord said, adding this had a “significant psychological impact” on him.
She disagreed that he had minimised his offending, and said he was “extremely remorseful” and “deeply ashamed”, and fully understood how he had contributed to a “culture of exploitation and dehumanisation”.
The summary of facts detailed an extensive list of Google searches on McSkimming’s devices, including references to underage girls, incest, animals and words such as “slave”, “abuse” and “extreme”. Many of the searches were for AI-generated images or illustrations.
Police assessed a total of 2945 images McSkimming accessed as objectionable material, and he is estimated to have opened or enlarged about 160 of them.
Judge Black sentenced him to nine months of home detention with six months of post-release conditions.
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 12 years.