Graham was found to have been accessing child exploitation material for six years.<\/p>\n
In April 2025, on a social media<\/a> application, he exported 20 objectionable publications depicting the sexual abuse of children.<\/p>\n The social media app was not identified; it was referred to only as Platform A in the summary of facts provided to NZME after Graham\u2019s sentencing on Friday in the Tauranga District Court.<\/p>\n The now 21-year-old was sentenced on two representative charges of possessing objectionable material and one representative charge of exporting objectionable material.<\/p>\n Judge Robert Spear said the material Graham had exported was \u201cof the most appalling nature\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cFalling into what we describe as category 1A, in the categories of child sexual abuse material<\/a>, involving penetrative sexual activity of a real child,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While 20 publications were exported, Graham had in his possession 4402 objectionable publications in total, with the majority falling into categories 1B and 2B.<\/p>\n The summary of facts said 4373 of those were child exploitation material publications, and 29 were other objectionable publications.<\/p>\n There were 51 publications in the most serious category, 1A, and all the child sexual abuse publications involved real children.<\/p>\n Material was found on both a laptop and a smartphone.<\/p>\n \u2018If there wasn\u2019t a market, there wouldn\u2019t be a product\u2019<\/p>\n Judge Spear said it was important to recognise this wasn\u2019t a victimless crime.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are people who profit from making this … and they do so causing real harm to the young people that are used and abused in that production,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cAs is often said, if there wasn\u2019t a market, there wouldn\u2019t be a product.\u201d<\/p>\n Judge Spear acknowledged that the usual consequence for offending like this was a sentence of imprisonment.<\/p>\n However, of particular concern to the judge was Graham\u2019s youth at the time he developed a \u201cfascination\u201d with the material.<\/p>\n