Warning: This story contains content that people might find distressing.

Despite previously being jailed, and placed on a strict supervision order by Corrections, Reuben John Clements set about sourcing, making and distributing child exploitation material.

What police discovered on his phone was almost indescribable; one of the 32 videos involved a crying baby, struggling to breathe, and an adult man.

Officers also discovered he had engaged in conversations with other users on Telegram about incest and sadism acts.

About June 27, 2023, he was talking with someone he believed to be a 13-year-old about sexual encounters using the account named, “[email protected]”.

He ended up sending the girl money and pleading with her to move to New Zealand to be with him.

It was September 7, 2023, when police executed a search warrant at his home and uncovered the disturbing haul.

They found his phone on his bed and, on searching it, found he had nine user accounts, including on platforms Telegram, Kik Messenger and Chat Hour, which are often used by those who exchange objectionable material.

He’d uploaded the material on to his Telegram and Kik accounts, whose servers are based overseas and this allowed him to distribute it with ease.

Of the 68 images, 27 were in the most serious, A category.

There were 32 videos found, of which 27 were in category A.

A year earlier, police launched an undercover operation that involved an officer posing as a 13-year-old, Year 9 girl, living in Wellington.

Clements, who was 47 at the time, wanted to meet her and asked if he could move down there and began talking about sex.

His profile picture at the time was a photo of his penis and he asked her if she wanted to see it, and suggested role-playing and told her what he enjoyed seeing teens dressed in, and as.

Clements appeared in the Hamilton District Court on Thursday for sentencing on charges, some representative, of possessing, making, and distributing objectionable material, failing to comply with his Child Sex Offender obligations, breaching his extended supervision order, and indecent communication with a young person.

Clements’ counsel Michael Starling said his client had written a letter expressing his remorse and regret.

‘This is not genuine remorse’

But Crown solicitor Amy Alcock urged Judge Tania Warburton to “put it to one side” as his comments in his pre-sentence report almost mirrored what he’d told previous report writers.

“It appears that his answers are very well rehearsed, almost the same as in previous interviews.

“It is not genuine remorse ... perhaps more regret that he has been caught and that this has occurred against the background of a number of offences of this kind.

“He is continuing to repeat this behaviour.”

Police documents state the number of victims, and perpetrators, of online child exploitation in New Zealand had more than doubled since 2019, mirroring a global spike in offending since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic.

There had also been an increasing trend towards younger victims and greater brutality; infants and toddlers are being raped for the enjoyment of viewers.

Judge Warburton told Clements any offending involving children was “horrific”, but by distributing this material it re-victimised the victims every time it was viewed.

She accepted Clements’ upbringing but said he’d been given “numerous treatment opportunities”.

She also noted his previous convictions from making and publishing objectionable material in 2018, for which he was jailed, three for breaching his supervision order, and seven for failing to comply with his reporting obligations.

She allowed a limited discount for his guilty plea, 15%, as it came late before jailing him for four years and two months.

SEXUAL HARM

Where to get help: If it's an emergency and you feel that you or someone else is at risk, call 111.If you've ever experienced sexual assault or abuse and need to talk to someone, contact Safe to Talk confidentially, any time 24/7:
• Call 0800 044 334
• Text 4334
• Email [email protected]
• For more info or to web chat visit safetotalk.nz
Alternatively contact your local police station - click here for a list.
If you have been sexually assaulted, remember it's not your fault.

Belinda Feek is an Open Justice reporter based in Waikato. She has worked at NZME for 10 years and has been a journalist for 20.