A man has been sentenced to three years and 11 months imprisonment for distributing and possessing more than 2000 objectionable images depicting the sexual exploitation and abuse of babies and children.
George Stanley Fuimaono, 27, was sentenced at the Auckland District Court on Thursday after he pleaded guilty to seven representative charges in August.
He was also required to register as a child sex offender.
In October 2022, Fuimaono began communicating with a covert online investigator from an overseas law enforcement agency.
He shared a link to an online cloud storage location which contained 287 files of child exploitation and abuse. The international law enforcement agency referred the case to the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) once it identified Fuimaono was based in New Zealand.
A search warrant was carried out at Fuimaono’s home where investigators located and seized multiple devices.
Forensic analysis of these devices identified 1666 unique objectionable publications depicting sexual exploitation and abuse of real children, bestiality, and computer-generated files promoting the sexual harm of children.
The victims depicted were aged between one and 14.
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Fuimaono failed to appear in court in relation to six charges filed relating to the first search warrant, and he was subsequently arrested at his home on March 22, 2024 after an arrest warrant was issued.
A mobile phone in his possession at the time of his arrest was subject to a second search warrant.
Despite Fuimaono’s attempt to hide further offending, an additional 428 unique objectionable publications deemed to promote and support the sexual abuse and exploitation of children under the age of 16 were uncovered on this device.
DIA digital child exploitation team manager Tim Houston said this sentence sent a clear message to offenders.
“If you engage in these abhorrent activities, you will be found and face the full force of the law.”
The devices used by Fuimaono to store and access child sexual exploitation material would be destroyed by order of the Judge.
