Cop on objectionable material charges granted heavy suppressions
A police officer charged with possessing objectionable material has been allowed to keep his name secret over concerns of extreme hardship.
The man appeared in the Wellington District Court this morning before Judge Ian Carter, who extended the man’s name suppression, preventing media from reporting his age, ethnicity, police duties, his rank, and information about his family, who the judge agreed could suffer “seriously adverse consequences”.
The charges relate to 10 images, eight of which have been found to be objectionable by the classification office.
The images depict adult bestiality, some described as being “cartoons” or generated.
The man’s lawyer presented a psychological report and a letter from the man’s wife centred on the potential harms that their children would face.
“The court must be conscious of the fact that allowing publicity that would have seriously adverse consequences for a defendant that may be acquitted would be extremely prejudicial and irreversible,” Judge Carter said.
The public interest in knowing the details of the alleged offending was “not so great at this stage of the proceeding that disclosure would be justified”, he said.
He noted the courts operated under the principle of open justice, but said the alleged offending was at the “lower end of the scale of this category of offending”.
Name suppression was granted until the final disposition of the case in court, and could then be reassessed, meaning his name may remain secret until after trial or later.
The man, who first appeared last month and has been remanded at large, is yet to enter a plea.
He will next appear in court in September.
The charge followed a review of police information security controls in the wake of the Jevon McSkimming scandal.
Police announced last month that three officers had been arrested and charged with multiple counts of possessing an objectionable publication under the Films, Videos and Publications Classification Act.
Two were based in Auckland, all have been stood down from their duties, while three other investigations remain ongoing as part of the rapid review.
Four other people have resigned during the process, and 12 cases have been resolved through either disciplinary action or performance management.
McSkimming was sentenced to nine months’ home detention in December after he admitted three representative charges of possessing objectionable publications, namely child sexual exploitation and bestiality material.
“Prosecution of our own staff is a serious but important step to take as it recognises the significance of the alleged offending that has been identified,” Deputy Commissioner Tim Anderson said.
“I would like to acknowledge the professionalism and commitment by our investigators in the National Integrity Unit for their work to this point.
“Our investigations have involved the analysis of a significant volume of web activity.
“It is important we now let these matters progress to the court process, which limits the level of information we can provide at this point.”
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