Raumati Hanning, 23, a former pizza chef, was jailed for three years in February after admitting accessing a computer for a dishonest purpose and making child exploitation material.
Having no approved address and yet to start his rehabilitation at the Otago Corrections Facility, Parole Board panel convener Martha Coleman said she had "no hesitation" in denying the inmate early release.
Hanning became the subject of police’s "Operation Vandem" following a complaint in April last year when a 16-year-girl reported she had been conned into sharing photos of her feet online.
Four months later, officers discovered she was one of about 100 — some as young as 7 — across the globe who had been deceived by the defendant.
In January 2023, the court heard, Hanning began creating fake social-media accounts, usually posing as a 12-year-old under names such as "Lucy", "Lilly" or "Indiana".
His goal was to have the victims provide photos of their feet, claiming it was for ballet, gymnastics or a school project.
Sometimes, he offered the girls money and on occasions employed emotional blackmail, telling them his mother had recently died of cancer.
Hanning would direct the victims to perform acts on cylindrical objects with their feet, ensuring their camera was pointed directly at their crotch.
The ruse resulted in him receiving 400 videos, which he used to trade with others online with a similar depraved interest.
When police raided Hanning’s home, they found nearly 50,000 electronically stored illicit images and videos from other sources.
While counsel Andrew Dawson told the Parole Board his client was motivated to undertake specialist child-sex-offender treatment, he suggested it could be done in the community given the level of family support.
Hanning said he was "unable to stop himself" when his near-three-year spree was in full swing.
"He talked about the gratitude that he feels for the fact that he was caught because it has enabled him to be honest about what was happening and to be alive to receive treatment for it," Ms Coleman said.
Hanning was unlikely to get a place on the prison treatment programme until mid next year, the board heard; a psychological report was ordered to consider his therapeutic needs.
Hanning will next see the Parole Board in February.
rob.kidd@odt.co.nz , Court reporter
