Tip-off leads to jail

An anonymous tip to the Department of Internal Affairs led to an Ashburton man being jailed yesterday for two years and four months over the sexual exploitation of young girls.

Shane Allen Harris, 38, septic tank cleaner of Ashburton, pleaded guilty before Judge Michael Crosbie in the Timaru District Court to two charges of making and five of possessing objectionable publications. Harris had made video clips from his camera of two images of naked girls and Judge Crosbie said this indicated his level of deviance and obsession.

Harris had 12 previous convictions for similar offences and Crown solicitor, Claire Boshier, said he posed a risk to young girls in the community. Sentencing needed to denounce and deter the type of conduct in which he was involved and to promote in him a sense of responsibility for and acknowledgement of the harm caused.

When Internal Affairs publications inspectors seized computer equipment from Harris’ home they found hundreds of images featuring young girls in swimming costumes, naked and in leotards, as well as older teenage girls and adults in sexual acts and videos depicting bestiality. Some of the photographs were of Ashburton children.

Internal Affairs Acting Deputy Secretary, Craig Armitage, said the Department’s censorship team tracks offenders through a variety of sources, including the Internet, information received and international agency co-operation.

“People indulging in such activity, who think they are free to do so in the confines of their own home, should think again” he said. “If you’re involved with this material you can expect to get caught. We have dedicated inspectors with the expertise to catch offenders.”