A Massey University tutor has pleaded guilty to possessing objectionable material and distributing it using an online chat forum.



Jeremy Peter Moss, 41, appeared in the Palmerston North District Court on Tuesday in front of Judge Stephanie Edwards and was convicted on 25 charges of possessing objectionable material and one of distributing objectionable material.

These included images of children performing sex acts or posing provocatively.



The police said that on January 22, 2014, an undercover FBI agent had been communicating on the internet with a man in America who they then arrested on a number of child exploitation charges.

From that investigation they discovered he had been in contact with a person in New Zealand – Moss.

He had been using the chat forum to distribute child exploitation material.



On July 2, 2015, the police executed a search warrant at his property and took a number of electronic storage devices.



An analysis of the hard drive located 411 files categorised as objectionable.

A Massey University spokesman said they were aware of the situation and had taken appropriate action in the interests of students and staff.

He said they had been advised none of the offending occurred at the university or using Massey equipment.

It was confirmed Moss was still an employee at the university.

On the Massey University website he was listed as a tutor in physics, a position he was believed to have held for one year and 10 months.

The judge accepted Moss' guilty plea and convicted him on all charges.

He was remanded until May for sentencing.

