Pensioner jailed for child sexual abuse images

A 66-year-old Auckland man caught trading and possessing over 25,000 images and videos of child sexual abuse was sentenced to two years and five months’ imprisonment today.

Geoffrey Paul Healy was convicted of 48 ‘sample’ charges of importing (downloading), supplying and distributing, and possessing electronic images and videos of young children being sexually abused. Forensic examination of Healy’s electronic devices revealed he had over 25,000 still images and 1060 movies, some of which he had attempted to delete.

The saved images were in folders for easy viewing or trading. Many images showed the worst scale of abuse. Customs also located email conversations that discussed and joked about the abuse in detail, and asked for particular types of images.

In January 2014, Customs became aware that Healy was downloading and trading objectionable material. His city apartment was searched to take his electronics for forensic analysis. Healy was in hospital at the time, and the phone he had with him held more images.

Customs Manager Investigations Maurice O’Brien says viewing or trading child sexual abuse images is a serious crime, and Healy clearly knew he was doing wrong.

“These are images of young children and babies suffering sexual violation and horrific abuse. People who view or trade such images contribute to their continued abuse, and need to be prosecuted.

“There’s no one type of offender. They vary in age, occupation and social status. They commit crimes in the privacy of their homes or on their cell phones. They hide behind anonymity online. But they don’t offer the same anonymity to their victims,” Mr O’Brien says.

The Objectionable Publications and Indecency legislation that received Royal Assent earlier this month and becomes effective on 7 May, will double maximum penalties for importing or exporting objectionable material to 10 years under Customs legislation.

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