A Dunedin man was arrested last week after a social messaging app he was using reported he was sending child exploitation images to other users.
The 22-year-old appeared in the Dunedin District Court last Friday charged with knowingly exporting objectionable publications, with more charges likely to follow, according to the New Zealand Customs Service. He was arrested by Customs investigators, and is scheduled to appear in court again on May 22.
Customs investigations manager Bruce Berry said a global network of organisations and law enforcement agencies were constantly working to identify offenders using websites or social media apps to share child abuse images.
"This is not harmless browsing; it is a serious crime and will be treated as such. There’s no justification for viewing, downloading, uploading, sharing or worse — producing — images or videos of innocent children being sexually abused, exploited or tortured."
Two other New Zealand men had also been identified recently after international referrals. In mid-April, a 29-year-old Taranaki man was arrested after uploading child exploitation material to a "popular social networking site", according to a statement from Customs. He was charged with knowingly exporting and distributing objectionable publications, a crime carrying a maximum jail term of 14 years.
A 23-year-old Auckland man was identified after an international referral that he had uploaded a large volume of "child exploitation material" to an image-hosting website.
He was also charged with knowingly exporting objectionable publications, and more charges were likely to follow, the statement said.