A man who admitted having and sharing child sex abuse images has won permanent name suppression in the High Court, because his wife has a heart condition.
In June, the man was sentenced in the Auckland District Court to 10 months' home detention for exporting objectionable material and possessing pictures, many of which showed men raping children.
When the court refused to grant name suppression the man's lawyer appealed, saying his client's wife had a heart condition and her heart could stop under stress if he is named.
In a ruling released last night, Justice Thomas said naming the man, and thereby also identifying his six-year-old daughter would harm his wife.
Media law specialist, Ursula Cheer, said a High Court the decision weighed up a real risk that could not be ignored.
Professor Cheer said new evidence was provided to the High Court.
"It wasn't only the wife's medical condition here that counted, it was a combination of her worrying also about what might happen to the child, so the whole thing was added up together in this case."
She said it was unlikely the case will set a major precedent for similar situations.
While, Stop Demand's founder Denise Ritchie said parents had a right to know the identities of the predators in their communities.
She said the that assumption is speculative and does set a dangerous precedent.
"It will open a gateway that will encourage future offenders to seek anonymity on the basis of family members' medical conditions."
