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Offender Databases James Sharpe

James Alexander Sharpe

Alias

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Offences

10 representative counts of possessing child pornography and two of importing same over four years from 2004
More than 28,000 images and video clips.

Victims

Offender Affiliations

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Gang affiliations

none known

Age

Born 1988

Current Location

Was on home detention in Christchurch

Parole/Release Dates

Sentenced to eight months home detention in May 2008

Background
The Press, Tuesday 27th May 2008
A German-based investigation into Internet child pornography caught a Christchurch man accessing banned material. James Alexander Sharpe, 20, was arrested after Interpol contacted New Zealand police. He pleaded guilty to 10 representative charges of possessing indecent material and two of importing such material, and was sentenced to eight months home detention by Christchurch District Court Judge Colin Doherty.

The judge said Parliament had recently marked its abhorrence of this type of offence by increasing the maximum penalty to five years jail. "It's clear from cases before the courts that all sorts of people do this. Many have never been before the courts before, like you," the judge told Sharpe. Sharpe was found in possession of "tens of thousands" of objectionable images. Aggravating factors were the offending over a long time and the huge number of images found, each involving the exploitation of a young person. It was to Sharpe's credit that he was remorseful.

"I note within days of your apprehension you engaged in seeking help," the judge said. Sharpe needed constant monitoring, and special conditions would apply for 12 months after the end of the sentence. Sharpe was ordered to do the Stop programme as directed by a probation officer and not to have contact with people under 16 unless under supervision of an approved adult. He was not to use electronic equipment that could access the Internet.

Lawyer Jonathan Eaton said Sharpe's inappropriate use of the Internet started when he was about 14. It stemmed from a lack of self-esteem. Eaton said there was no suggestion Sharpe disseminated images. He had a supportive partner and parents, had engaged in counselling, made full admissions and was remorseful. Prosecutor Tim Mackenzie said about 28,000 images were found, most of them objectionable, and a starting point of jail for about two years or more was appropriate. The judge said the consensus seemed to be that Sharpe had a serious problem, which Sharpe recognised. Sharpe had been assessed as suitable for community or home detention, the judge said.

The Press (Christchurch), 28th March 2008
A German-based investigation into Internet child pornography caught a Christchurch man accessing banned material, a court has been told. Prosecutor Zannah Johnston told the Christchurch District Court that James Alexander Sharpe's computer was identified as being used to access child pornography after information was received from Interpol in Germany.

Sharpe, 20, admitted 10 representative counts of possessing material he knew to be objectionable and two of importing objectionable material. Johnston said police seized 45 compact discs from Sharpe containing more than 28,000 image and movie clips. Many were found to involve child pornography.

When interviewed, Sharpe said he accessed the material for about four years and admitted downloading and transferring images on to compact discs. Sharpe told police he knew it was wrong but found he could not stop and was too embarrassed to tell anyone, Johnston said.

Lawyer Jonathan Eaton said Sharpe had already completed the Stop programme for sex- related offending and had had intensive counselling. Judge Stephen Erber called for a home-detention report and remanded Sharpe on bail for sentence on May 23, subject to him surrendering his passport.

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Corrections and Additional Information
We endeavour to make this database as accurate as possible, but we are at the mercy of whatever information we can find in various online and offline archives. We rely on the public - that is, people like you - to fill in the gaps that we cannot. If you wish to submit additional information or a correction to this file CLICK HERE . Privacy: Trust policy is that all sources are treated as strictly confidential unless we are explicitly told otherwise. If you wish to see a file removed from this database certain conditions must be met by the offender set out HERE Note that this does NOT apply for those that are the primary offender in a murder, rape, or any sexual offending involving minors. We do not enter into correspondence regarding the guilt/innocence of offenders. Such correspondence is not responded to, especially if the offender concerned has a number of prior convictions

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