Coromandel man Barry Ramsay found guilty of child sex abuse

Barry Ramsay appeared in the Rotorua District Court in September for a judge-alone trial facing allegations of sexual offending against children. Photo / Kelly Makiha

Warning: This story contains details of sexual offending against children and may be upsetting.

A man who claimed he had child exploitation material for “research” has been found guilty of serious sexual offending against children.

Coromandel man Barry Ramsey was tried before Judge Joanne Wickliffe in the Rotorua District Court in September.

Ramsay, 67, initially denied all 24 charges, most of which related to sexual offending against two child victims in the Bay of Plenty over three years.

Charges included multiple of sexual violation and performing indecent acts on the children – a boy and a girl aged under 12.

Some charges were representative, meaning the offences happened more than once.

He was accused of possessing and making child exploitation material, and showing it to both victims, obstructing police and failing to carry out obligations in relation to a computer search.

Police found more than 1300 objectionable images on his laptop, dozens of which were assessed as being in the most offensive category of content.

Ramsay claimed he had the “distasteful, disgusting” material for academic “research” to develop a search tool for law enforcement.

He denied allegations he tried to make the boy have sex with a dog and unlawfully touched the girl.

It was his defence that several incidents alleged by the children “did not happen” and in others there was “context”, such as them “instigating” conversations about sexual matters with him.

On the witness stand, he admitted giving the boy oral sex but said he did not view it as sexual because he was “fully clothed”.

Among his other claims were that he bought sex toys for the children “to answer their questions” and enable “safer” masturbation, and that AI produced a recording found in his belongings of a male voice questioning if sex was “detrimental to children”.

He pleaded guilty during his trial to five charges of possessing an objectionable publication, but continued to deny the other charges.

Ramsay appeared yesterday in the Rotorua District Court to hear Judge Wickliffe’s verdicts on the remaining 19 charges.

She found him guilty on all charges except obstructing police.

Judge Wickliffe ordered a pre-sentence report.

She remanded Ramsay in custody until sentencing on February 18.

Sexual harm

Where to get help:

If it’s an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.

If you’ve ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:

• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email support@safetotalk.nz
• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz

Alternatively, contact your local police station – click here for a list.

If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it’s not your fault.

Megan Wilson is a health and general news reporter for the Bay of Plenty Times and the Rotorua Daily Post. She has been a journalist since 2021.