Jared Savage: NZ Herald investigative reporter on Jevon McSkimming's suppression order dropping

Former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming might have struggled to hold on to his suppression order.

He faces eight charges of possessing objectionable material containing child exploitation and bestiality. 

A gag order lapsed today. 

NZ Herald investigative reporter Jared Savage revealed major media companies had joined to oppose the order continuing.

"Given the significant public interest in this, I think it would have been very hard for a judge to maintain the status quo."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So we can now name the prominent New Zealander facing
serious charges in court it as deputy former Deputy Police
Commissioner Jim mc skimming. He's facing charges of possessing objectionabable
objectionable material, good design need to go and study again,
including child exploitation material and unfortunately best regality. Jared Savage
is an investigative reporter at the Herald High Jarrett Hither Jared,

(00:21):
is this content that he got through his work in
the police or is this stuff that he just got
from the internet as a civilian.

Speaker 2 (00:28):
I don't know there answer connect, but I would say
that I strongly doubt whether the police would have laid
such serious charges against the former Deputy commissioner if it
was something that he had been looking at as part
of his duties as a police officer. So there's a
lot more to play out with us in the court process.
Are going to be pretty careful that the allegations, but

(00:51):
I would suspect that if that's a defense to be raised,
that will come later at trial.

Speaker 1 (00:55):
Right and was this found because police were looking for
the stuff or did they stumbled across across it when
they were investigating the separate staff related complaint which came first.

Speaker 2 (01:06):
So yeah, you're right, there's a separate complaint that the
police were investigating late last year with the Independent Police
Conduct Authority. My understanding is this is part of that
inquiry and we can't get into the details of that
for other reasons, but as part of that they have
had such wants of his group devices and allegedly found
this objectional material on his computer that led to a separate,

(01:30):
a separate police investigation. And it was at that point
where you know, the police Minister Mark Mitchell was, you know,
sort of given this maturity. Look, we found an issue
here separate to the original complaint and that's read the
mixed skimming resigning. So in may I.

Speaker 1 (01:47):
Think, and why did he allow his name suppression to
lapse today?

Speaker 2 (01:53):
I'm not sure what you allowed it to lapse, but
it's sort of one of those things that is actually
is quite hard to keep name suppression ongoing for a
long time unless there are very good reasons for it.
That the threshold can be quite high the media. So
the heroinesed me stuff are and zealous come be banding
together and sort of finding the suppression aspect of it earlier,

(02:15):
and I think given the significant public interest in this,
I think it would have been very hard for judge
to sort of maintain the status quo.

Speaker 1 (02:23):
Really, and so, what's the maximum sentence he faces here
if he was to be found guilty.

Speaker 2 (02:28):
If he was to be found guilty, then a maximum
sentence is ten years in prison or a fifty thousand
dollars fine. But that's the viear, that's the very maximum
end of it.

Speaker 1 (02:38):
Brilliant. Hey, thank you for running us through that, Jared appreciated.
That's Jared Savage, the Herald's investigative reporter. For more from
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