Sportsman jailed over child sex abuse images

Sadism and sexual abuse of toddlers was among the exploitative internet images found in the possession of a Canterbury sportsman and churchgoer.

His online viewing and distribution has wrecked his home and ended with him being led sobbing to prison on Wednesday to begin a term of two years and three months.

It also sent a woman in tears rushing from the Christchurch District Courtroom where he was being sentenced as she realised he was not going to be granted name suppression to protect his family.

The 39-year-old man was found with 3450 images and videos and 65 per cent of it was assessed as being at the worst level of child sexual abuse.

He admitted two charges of distributing nine objectionable child abuse images online and one charge of possessing 3450 of them. The man sat downcast in the dock, with his eyes closed, while Judge Brian Callaghan described some of the material found hidden on his computer and external hard drive.

It involved sadism and sexual activity with toddlers, prepubescent children and young teenagers. Some involved bound and gagged children. The charges refer to images of the sexual abuse of girls as young as 2 years old.

As soon as Judge Callaghan refused name suppression, defence counsel Andrew McCormick had the interim suppression order continued until Monday so he could file appeal papers.

It will remain until the appeal is heard in the High Court, likely in a few weeks.

The Department of Internal Affairs, which laid the charges, opposed name suppression. Crown prosecutor Sean Mallett told the judge: ‘‘The children receive no anonymity when their images are traded on the internet.’’