A 36-year-old man has been jailed for five years after trying to buy a child for the purposes of sexual exploitation.
Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Aaron Joseph Hutton pleaded guilty last year and was sentenced at the Auckland District Court today.
Hutton was also charged with possession of child pornography and will be added to the Child Sexual Offenders Register.
The Digital Child Exploitation Team at the Department of Internal Affairs discovered Hutton during an investigation on the dark web in 2015.
His username was "KiwiPedo".
The outcome is the result of a joint investigation by the Department of Internal Affairs and New Zealand police.
Department of Internal Affairs Digital Child Exploitation Team manager Tim Houston welcomed the successful conclusion of the case.
"Child sexual exploitation and abuse material depicts a crime scene, and the worst moment in a child's life. Stopping the distribution of this type of material is critical because every time this material is shared, the children involved in this crime are re‐victimised."
Detective Sergeant Corey Brown from Waitemata police said the case is a testament of multiple agencies working effectively together to target those involved in the sexual exploitation of children.
"This was a prolonged, detailed investigation and police and our partners are constantly evolving in our investigative techniques to target those individuals offending online.
"We hope today's sentencing serves as a warning to other offenders preying on children online and distributing child exploitation material that it is only a matter of time before you are caught and prosecuted."
