20 Apr 2016

Prison for sending disturbing video via Facebook

4:01 pm on 20 April 2016

A 28-year-old Nelson man has been sent to prison for almost a year for sending a disturbing video to a woman.

Aaron Stephen Tamihana was sentenced in the Nelson District Court on Monday, after police brought the charges under the Harmful Digital Communications Act, which was introduced in July last year to crack down on cyber-bullying.

Detective Senior Sergeant Craig Johnston said the sentence sent a clear message that the justice system took this kind of offending extremely seriously.

Under the new act, offences of this kind are punishable by up to two years imprisonment or a $50,000 fine.

Mr Johnston said even using offensive language in digital communications with the intention of causing emotional harm to another person could be considered an offence under the act.