Principal jailed for 16 months

Former intermediate school principal David Latimer has been sentenced to 16 months in jail. Photo...
Former intermediate school principal David Latimer has been sentenced to 16 months in jail. Photo / NZ Herald
A former West Auckland principal found to be storing thousands of pornographic images has been sentenced to 16 months in jail.

David Latimer, former head of Rangeview Intermediate, appeared in the Auckland District Court this morning on 25 charges of possessing objectionable material.

The prosecution said around 77,000 objectionable images were found on his school equipment.

Crown lawyer Natalie Small said some of the disturbing photographs included scenes of rape, torture and bestiality, showing both adults and children ranging from as young as two years of age to their mid teens.

The majority of the children were aged between 9 and 13.

Ms Small said the fact Latimer was a school principal at the time makes his offending "an abuse of trust at what could only be considered the highest level".

"It is hard to imagine a case more serious, for the possession of image," she said.

Latimer worked at Rangeview Intermediate for six years.

The 48-year-old resigned last February, after an investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs.

He pleaded guilty to the 25 charges in December.

The defence argued that right from the outset, Latimer co-operated fully with authorities.

The thousands of images were stored on CDs, zipped and password protected.

Defence lawyer Simon Lance said by keeping the photographs as secure as possible, Latimer was ensuring nobody else would see them.

But when under investigation, Mr Lance said he was open with authorities about how to access the content.

Mr Lance said his client was very remorseful.

"He feels as though he has betrayed his responsibility to the community, and caused severe emotional pain to his family."

The defence argued that Latimer's extensive collection was down to compulsive behaviour and obsessive hoarding tendencies.

His offending did not involve students from Rangeview Intermediate.

However, the Crown said three images from a school camp were found among the pornographic material.

The former teacher stood calmly in the dock, hands clasped before him, as Judge Nicola Mathers delivered her sentence.

The judge reduced his sentence from a starting point of two and a half years, taking into account his lack of previous convictions, his remorse, and the support of his wife and family.

By Alexandra Mason of Newstalk ZB