Warning: Readers may find the offending described in this story distressing.

James Chas Henry Ware was found in possession of thousands of objectionable photos and videos, some of which depicted sexual exploitation and abuse of infants.

Ware denied it, then admitted it, then tried to deny it again.

After nearly three years in court, the man from Rerewhakaaitu, near Rotorua, has now been sentenced to 12 months’ home detention.

The 35-year-old’s case was called in the Rotorua District Court on Tuesday before Judge Louis Bidois.

Ware earlier pleaded guilty to two counts of possession of objectionable material - one being a representative charge (meaning the offence happened more than once).

He unsuccessfully tried to vacate his guilty pleas and defend the charges.

A police summary of facts, supplied to the Rotorua Daily Post, said Ware downloaded 31 images on December 29, 2022 to his Google Drive account.

Google detected they contained objectionable material and police were contacted.

Police found the files contained objectionable material promoting and supporting the exploitation of children or young people for sexual purposes.

The files comprised a mix of images, gifs and videos showing infants, children, and young people.

On July 6, 2023, police searched Ware’s house and found his phone contained 5063 objectionable images stored within the device’s cache.

An analysis found the images were of children aged between 1 and 13.

The Films, Videos, and Publications Classification Act 1993 has categories of seriousness for objectionable material from one to five, with five being the most serious.

The summary said more than 670 files were rated category four and showed sexual activity between adults and children. Twenty-five were rated category five and contained images of sadism or bestiality.

At sentencing, Ware again denied the images were his, saying he was forced to represent himself in court and hadn’t had a fair hearing.

The Rotorua Courthouse. Photo / Kelly Makiha

He told a pre-sentence report writer the images might have been downloaded by someone else on his phone - pointing the finger at a family member or a drug dealer he was with at the time.

In his submissions to Judge Bidois before sentencing, Ware asked the court to consider continuing name suppression and granting a stay of sentencing.

However, Judge Bidois refused and said there were no grounds to continue name suppression. He also refused the stay.

Judge Bidois said Ware was entitled to appeal the matters to a higher court if he wished. He noted Ware did not indicate at the end of the sentencing he intended to appeal.

Judge Bidois said Ware had up to four lawyers during the past three years, had difficulty getting legal representation through Legal Services Agency and subsequently made a complaint to the Ombudsman.

After initially pleading guilty, Ware was to be sentenced last year but it didn’t go ahead, given his attempt to vacate his guilty pleas.

“We spent the last nine months sorting out your application to vacate your plea. In the end, I refused that and determined there was sufficient proof that you had no valid defence to the charges.”

In sentencing, Judge Bidois gave a total 20% discount for Ware’s guilty plea, being “entrenched in a methamphetamine addiction” at the time of offending and the fact he was considered a first-time offender - apart from a theft charge in 2008.

The result of two years’ jail was transferred to a 12-month home detention sentence.

Judge Bidois ordered Ware be added to the Child Sex Offenders Register and that all images be destroyed.

The maximum jail sentence for the charges Ware faced was 10 years.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.