A Nelson man has been sentenced to two years and three months in prison for possession of over 2000 images and videos showing children being sexually exploited and abused.
Ian Durbin, 56, pleaded guilty to six charges of possessing objectionable material at Nelson District Court.
The Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) say Durbin was found after “uploading 21 child sexual exploitation and abuse images to a visual search engine, in an effort to seek out similar illegal material”.
A search warrant at his home in April 2023 led to the seizure of several devices where police found Durbin was in possession of 2077 objectionable images and videos.
“Investigators also found evidence that he had been consistently searching for child sexual exploitation material over a period of at least 10 years,” said police.
Durbin had 793 files from one child alone, taken from when she was approximately four to 12 years old.
“This material represents the worst moments in a child’s life, captured and shared by offenders,” manager of the Digital Child Exploitation Team Tim Houston said.
“We are committed to ensuring justice is served to those who fuel the demand for this horrific material.”
As part of his sentence Durbin will be registered as a child sex offender.
The Digital Child Exploitation team conducted 47 investigations into child exploitation in 2023, identifying nearly three million pieces of illegal material held by New Zealanders.
