$6,000 Fine To Man Who Received $48,000 For Promoting Sex Abuse Of Children And Rape Of Women

Today’s decision by the Auckland District Court, to impose community work and a fine on an Auckland webmaster who made over $48,000 promoting the sexual abuse of children and the rape of women, is an “affront” to rape victims, says a group working to stop sexual violence.

Thirty-three year old Philip Carlton Batty was found guilty on 22 charges relating to possession and distribution of videos and pictures of children being sexually abused, women being raped and bestiality.

Batty operated a free website which featured videos and pictures obtained from some 50 websites to which he provided links. His US-based website, which he operated from his Auckland home, was used to entice people to pay to join those websites which, in turn, paid him a share of the subscriptions. Batty told Department of Internal Affairs’ Inspectors that for two years he had received at least $2,000 a month in commissions.

Batty faced prison sentences of up to one year on each of four distribution charges and fines of up to $2,000 on each of 18 possession charges. Judge Thomas Everitt ordered Batty to do 100 hours community work and pay fines and costs totalling $6,440.

Denise Ritchie of Stop Demand Foundation says “The sentence is an affront to victims of rape and child sex abuse. The offender profited substantially from promoting websites dedicated to the rape of women and sexual crimes against children. It was open to the Court to send Batty to prison on four distribution charges; instead it ordered him to do a trifling 100 hours community work. It was open to the Court to impose fines of up to $36,000 on 18 possession charges; instead it imposed penalties of just over $6,000, despite Batty admitting to having made at least $48,000 from his website.”

“Such a lenient sentence provides little future deterrence to the offender or others, when compared with the profits made. More disturbingly, the sentence trivialises the rape and sexual violation of women and children.”

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