Cleaner who joked about child exploitation images on his phone now facing prison

WARNING: This story deals with child sexual exploitation material and may be upsetting.

A cleaner who joked to his workmates that he had child sexual abuse images on his phone, and then proceeded to show them, is now facing prison.

Thomas Wayne Herrera Francisco admitted in the Nelson District Court today three representative charges of possessing child exploitation material and one charge of exhibiting the material, which police said had fuelled global and “horrific” sexual offending against children.

The summary of facts said any sexual offence involving a child was horrific, but by photographing, filming and distributing images and movies of the abuse, the victim was victimised every time they were seen on the internet.

“The demand for new child sex abuse images results in a continuing cycle of sexual abuse for existing victims and demands for new victims,” the police said.

On the evening of Thursday, May 4 this year, Francisco was working as a cleaner at a Richmond retail store. He told a colleague he had “child porn” on his cellphone.

The colleague, unsure if it was true or an inappropriate joke, asked if he was serious.

Francisco pulled out his phone and started scrolling through the media gallery, which the colleague saw, noting numerous thumbnail images for pornographic videos that featured children aged under 10.

The colleague reported the matter to their manager.

The following evening, Francisco was working with the same colleague and another when he asked if they wanted to see his collection, and held the phone in a way in which the images were easily visible.

The complainant, aged 17, reported seeing “hundreds and hundreds” of child exploitation material featuring girls aged 11 or 12.

“The complainant and his colleague couldn’t believe what they had observed and described the content as ‘really bad’,” the police summary said.

It was reported to their manager, who then called the police.

On May 9 this year, the police searched Francisco’s home and seized a cellphone he had with him.

A preliminary examination showed an electronic folder hidden by three layers of protection that contained five videos depicting children aged between 6 and 12 engaged in sexual intercourse with adults.

Further analysis of the cellphone revealed a social media conversation in which Francisco actively requested child exploitation material from an associate.

A total of 34 videos were found showing children and young people aged 6 to 14 engaged in various sexual acts with adults.

When spoken to by police, Francisco denied he’d shown the complainant content involving children, and that the material shown was from a “readily accessible pornographic website featuring adult models”.

He also said the videos found in a hidden folder had been “automatically downloaded” from a social media app by accident, and that he had not viewed them.

The police said that by possessing the material, Francisco had directly contributed to the further victimisation of the children involved and fuelled an international demand for the imagery.

“The abused child carries this burden for the rest of their life,” police said.

They said there was an increasing trend toward younger victims and greater brutality involving very young children.

About 20 per cent of all sexually explicit images traded over the internet involved children, police said.

Francisco was convicted and remanded on bail to January 11, with a warning from Judge Tony Zohrab that a prison sentence would be the starting point for sentencing.

By Tracy NealOpen Justice multimedia journalist