Man Jailed for Child Sexual Abuse Publications

A 40-year-old Waikato man was today sentenced in the Hamilton District Court to three years and two months’ imprisonment for exporting, importing, possessing and distributing over 900 child sexual abuse publications using the internet.

Clinton Baylis was convicted on 16 charges. Most publications were graphic, showing serious offending against young children. He was also convicted for possessing cannabis utensils.

Authorities in the United States, Australia, and New Zealand contributed to the Customs investigation that identified Baylis.

He was arrested after a search warrant at his home in August 2014. Despite his denial, objectionable publications were located on his laptop and forensic examination showed he had been actively distributing objectionable publications, and had recently downloaded 100 images.

Customs Investigations Manager Maurice O’Brien says Customs is part of a global taskforce committed to identifying, rescuing, and safeguarding children, while pinning down offenders.

“Our motto in New Zealand, shared with Police and the Department of Internal Affairs, is it takes a network to defeat a network. This case is a good example, with different triggers here and overseas linking back to this man and resulting in his arrest and conviction.

“Many offenders think they can get away with this type of crime by operating under the supposed anonymity of the dark web. Let this case be a warning and deterrent to others.

Mr O’Brien says it’s important for the public to realise that these are not harmless images.

“Every image is actually a crime scene of a child being victimised at the time, often suffering very serious sexual abuse. These innocent children are then re-victimised every time their images are viewed or shared – trading child sexual abuse images is a serious crime.”

If you have any information related to this type of offending, call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 anonymously, or Customs on 0800 4 CUSTOMS (0800 428 786) in confidence.

ENDS

© Scoop Media