A 54-year-old Southland man has been sentenced to 10 and a half months home detention after pleading guilty to making numerous intimate visual recordings of several victims over a five-year period.
The man was sentenced on October 9 and ordered to pay $3,000 in emotional harm compensation to each of the victims.
The case was brought to light largely due to the courage of the victims, according to Detective Senior Sergeant Nicholas Leigh of Southland Police.
While expressing satisfaction with the guilty plea and sentencing, Detective Senior Sergeant Leigh also warned the public about the ongoing prevalence of offenses involving intimate visual recordings, blackmail, and sextortion across the country. He urged parents and caregivers to discuss online safety with young people and encouraged victims of online offending to report incidents.
“It pays to be vigilant with people you don’t know – whether online or in person,” he said, urging anyone experiencing such offenses to document evidence and report it to police or Netsafe.
Image credit: Webster Tingey
10 1/2 months there’ll be a whole lot of gooning going on.