Pearce Patrick Buckley, 36, came before the Parole Board in March — less than three months before his sentence end date — and convinced the board he was no longer an undue risk to the community.
It was noted he was a minimum-security prisoner at the Otago Corrections Facility, had a limited criminal history and the offending had occurred seven years ago.
A specialist determined that given the level of the inmate’s offending, no further treatment was required.
The conditions of Buckley’s parole was that he surrender any internet-capable devices to his Probation officer on request, and that he not possess or use any such device unless he was supervised by an approved adult.
"Mr Buckley’s offending was confined to the internet and that condition in particular will address that concern," panel convener Judge Eddie Paul said.
In September 2022, Buckley was sentenced to two years eight months’ imprisonment after a jury found him guilty of three charges of possessing objectionable publications.
Buckley denied the charges and said he had accidentally discovered the illegal material while searching for kinky adult videos.
He went looking for amateur videos by searching for tall women dominating men dressed as babies, he claimed.
But Buckley used an alias when he imported a file containing more than 11,000 files featuring graphic depictions of sexual abuse against children.
Bestiality and abuse of babies were among them.
His explanation for the offending continually changed while he was behind bars.
In August 2023, Buckley admitted his crimes and blamed the offending on a "particularly stressful period" he was in at the time.
But in March last year, he had reverted to his original explanation, denying he intentionally accessed the illegal material.
Along with the condition he not access the internet without supervision, Buckley may not contact any person under 16 without Probation’s approval and must live at an approved Otago address.
If Buckley had not been granted parole, he would have been automatically released in May this year.
