Ex-husband posted intimate pics

A Nelson man has been sentenced for sending intimate images of a couple, including his ex-wife, to their friends and co-workers.

In the Nelson District Court on Monday, the 49-year-old man, who has name suppression, was sentenced on six charges of sending harmful digital communications.

Earlier this year, the defendant’s open marriage of more than 20 years came to an end. On one occasion, he had taken photos of his wife and another man involved in a sex act. There had been an understanding within the group that the photos would never be shared with anyone else.

However, during a three-day period from July 21–23, the defendant posted the pictures to friends and workmates of the victims through emails and Facebook.

Defence lawyer Steven Zindel said the defendant accepted that what he had done was very unwise, doing harm to everyone involved, including himself.

Zindel said the defendant was a sincere individual, who had been naive to get involved in that activity and acted selfishly to send the photos the way he did.

He also said there were some psychiatric issues the defendant was dealing with prior to the offending.

Judge David Ruth said the defunct relationship was the root cause of the offending.

‘‘It is clear what went wrong was not only the breakdown of the relationship, but the revelations of what had been happening in the relationship without your knowledge.

‘‘[In the pre-sentence report], you said you weren’t aware it was illegal to send these photos,’’ the judge said. ‘‘I hope this has brought it home to you.’’

Judge Ruth said this type of offending was relatively new on New Zealand’s criminal calendar, with not a lot of authority from the higher courts.

He said that while there was great potential for spreading harmful images over the internet, in this case it was only a relatively small group of people who received them.

Ruth said the defendant had a low risk of reoffending, and sentenced him to 200 hours of community work.

Name suppression was continued for all parties involved.