Media release 23 July 2003

Child Pornography -Condemnation Of Weak Sentence

The 300 hrs community work sentence handed down today to Aucklander Alan Price, for trading images of children having sex with adult men, and explicit Internet chat between adult men wanting, and describing, sex with young girls, was condemned by anti-child pornography group ECPAT.

Included were images claiming to be of incest.

Spokesperson for ECPAT, Denise Ritchie, says “Such a weak sentence can only be condemned. It provides no deterrent to others. More importantly, it trivialises the sexual violation and sexual exploitation of children.”

ECPAT understands that some criticism was levelled at the 23-month delay between executing the warrant and bringing the prosecution. “But” says Ritchie, “any delays that might have been prejudicial to the offender, pale into insignificance when viewed against the lifetime impact on child victims.”

In the past seven years ECPAT has spoken out in an objective, sanitised and non-emotive manner, on “inadequate” sentences. “But” says barrister Denise Ritchie, “it is time for frankness. Not only have these children been the victims of rape and sexual degradation. Their violations will be the source of many others’ sexual gratification and fantasies as they describe, swap, fantasise and masturbate over the images. These children will be re-abused again and again. So long as the Internet exists, these victims will be the subject of ongoing sexual exploitation throughout their childhood, their adulthood and even after death. One of the common distresses of victims of child pornography is that their images are out there - forever. They will never be retrievable. For a New Zealand judge to hand out a sentence of ‘community work’ is a blatant insult to the child victims. Such an inadequate sentence deserves nothing other than condemnation. And a call for training for the judiciary. In New Zealand, the dedicated DIA Unit and ECPAT NZ are actively assisting a global move to combat child pornography. But New Zealand is being let down by some Judges, who trivialise the sexual violation of children.”

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