Man sentenced over terror video
A Christchurch man who has been convicted of possessing the mosque terror attack video admitted to sharing the ideology of the gunman and claiming his actions were justified.
Daniel John Burrough, 20, was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court yesterday to six months’ community detention and 18 months’ intensive supervision.
Burrough was sentenced on a charge of possession of objectionable material, as well as a second charge of indecently assaulting a child younger than 12. His name will now be included on the child sex offender register.
Burrough was arrested in March last year after he shared a link to the footage of the mosque attack on a Facebook chat group with about 15 other members.
After posting the link, Burrough sent a message saying: ‘‘Here’s the live link but if that’s down I’ll share it over Google’’.
The footage, which was filmed and livestreamed by the gunman during the attack, has been classified as an objectionable publication and may not be possessed or distributed.
Possession of such material carries a maximum penalty of 10 years’ jail or a $50,000 fine.
When police analysed Burrough’s laptop they discovered the video had been downloaded and saved onto the computer on the day of the terrorist attack.
Burrough admitted he possessed the video and told police he shared the ideology of the terrorist and that his acts were justified.
He was released on electronic monitored bail while the court proceedings were continuing.
Burrough’s sexual offending came to light a few months later, in July 2019, when the victim told her mother about the indecent assaults.
The offending had taken place over a period of five months during which Burrough had touched the girl’s genitals on at least five occasions.
Yesterday, Crown prosecutor Shivani Dayal said Burrough had been assessed as being a medium risk of reoffending but at a high risk of harm.
She said he had not been deterred in respect of the offending, and his extremest views against people of the Muslim faith continued.
Dayal said Burrough showed no remorse and posed a higher risk to the public than others who had been convicted of possessing the mosque footage.
Judge Paul Kellar said he was satisfied it was not necessary to jail Burrough and that a combination of community detention and intensive supervision adequately met the sentencing objectives.
He ordered that Burrough be monitored during his period of supervision, and that a probation report on his progress be filed within three months.
Burrough’s name had been suppressed by the courts since his arrest but the order was lifted yesterday after Judge Kellar declined to make the order permanent.