Man's 'palpable shame' over child abuse images

Another child abuse pornography user has been granted home detention, but he has been barred from having internet access for the nine-month sentence.

Fifty-seven-year-old Criss Robert Outram will serve his time at home in Northcote where his wife also lives.

Christchurch District Court Judge Phillip Moran said Outram’s “shame, embarrassment, and humiliation” was palpable and he had already suffered loss and punishment. His sons had left home and he had lost his job as a retail salesman.

More than 1000 objectionable files were found on his computer systems, memory stick, and hundreds of disks. He admitted viewing the material over 10 years.

Judge Moran described the files as “graphic, disturbing, and repugnant”.

They showed child exploitation of the worst kind. That included images of penetrative sex, and one of bestiality, involving young girls, toddlers, and babies being abused. Some of the files were stories.

Defence counsel Simon Shamy said Outram was already attending a STOP programme for sex offenders and it was the kind of case where home detention would be suitable.

Crown prosecutor Sara Jamieson said the view of the Department of Internal Affairs — which brought the prosecution — was that home detention was not an appropriate sentence.

Judge Moran said that a Court of Appeal decision stated that home detention was seen as providing a real alternative to imprisonment, and a home detention term was consistent with the principles of sentencing in this case. He was required to impose a sentence that was the least restrictive in the circumstances.

Outram had had the prosecution hanging over him for two years since the search warrant was executed at his home. There had been no hint of further trouble from him during that time.

He imposed nine months of home detention, and 200 hours of community work with special conditions that he complete counselling and treatment as directed, and have no access to the Internet on computers at his home.

He also ordered that the objectionable material be destroyed.

He declined to impose a condition that Outram have no contact with young people but he said restrictions could be imposed by his supervising probation officer as required.

Two weeks ago, a 46-year-old man, Colin Charles Wootton, was sentenced to eight months home detention and 160 hours of community work for having more than 3000 child sexual abuse images on his computer.