Warning: This article discusses child abuse material

Rumours on TikTok wrongly claiming that Mat Mowbray is the member of a wealthy Kiwi family convicted of having “extreme” child abuse material are “false, baseless and damaging”, a family spokesperson says.

The Mowbray family spokesperson told the Herald neither Mat nor any member of his family had ever been charged with, convicted of, or suspected of a crime.

“They have no connection to the individual or the case.”

A Ministry of Justice document provided to the Herald confirmed Mat had no convictions on his record.

The Herald can also confirm he is not the individual jailed over the offending.

“The convicted person is a 46-year-old New Zealand resident and is in custody; Mr Mowbray is none of these, he lives in Hong Kong with his family, is not in custody and has no involvement with that case whatsoever,” the family spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said Mat firmly believed individuals convicted of sexual offences against children should never receive name suppression.

The real defendant was sentenced last month by Auckland District Court Judge Maria Pecotic for knowingly possessing thousands of objectionable material files and knowingly importing the content.

He was given a 3% sentence reduction for giving $50,400 to charities days before he was due to be sentenced.

The man’s name, his family’s name and their high-profile company were permanently suppressed. This decision has been appealed.

It’s not the first time a wealthy New Zealander has been falsely connected to this offending.

In August, rich-lister Wayne Wright was also wrongly accused by Twitter’s Grok of being the defendant.

The falsely accused businessman told the Herald at the time: “The public have a right to know people have done such things and these folks should not have permanent name suppression.”

Wright said the defendant should come clean with their identity, no matter the consequences.

He urged the man to have his suppression lifted.

Wright believed name suppression should not be available if someone was jailed, with an exception if any children involved could be impacted by publication.

The Herald has also been made aware of another man who was allegedly falsely linked by AI to recently published sex crimes in New Zealand.

University of Auckland senior law lecturer Dr Benjamin Liu said those who publish false claims like this can face criminal or civil action.

If a New Zealander is wrongly accused of horrible offending like this on social media, he said New Zealand law applies.

He said Kiwis would have the ability to sue companies whose AI software had wrongly accused them of crimes.

“This is quite serious, to be honest. I know AI makes mistakes all the time, but multiple laws are being breached.

“The reputational damage and emotional damage can be huge.”

Until now, Liu said he had not heard of cases where AI models falsely accused New Zealanders of crimes.

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.

Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who covers issues such as sexual assault, workplace misconduct, media, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.