18 September 2018
By Anna Leask
...The fact the children were in a poverty-stricken country (click here) was also an aggravating factor as well as the "considerable and likely permanent" impact on the children was another factor.
"Your abuse of the children was at the higher end… You were paying to have the children used as toys," said Justice Wylie.
The Herald can now reveal the full details of Lawes' years of child exploitation and how his offending was exposed.
Police have also revealed Lawes is one of a growing number of offenders using live sex streaming to abuse children - a huge concern for law enforcement agencies across the globe....
...He would then send payments for the "shows" through third party money remitter Western Union.
Initially those payments were made in the name of Tony Henry - but Lawes would also use his wife's maiden name in an effort to conceal his activities.
Legislative changes were then introduced requiring Lawes to provide ID and make all transactions in his own name.
Soon after, Lawes' account was restricted due to the "suspicious nature" of his cash transfers.
That didn't stop him though - he began using PayPal to fund his online activity....
...In September 2017 the FBI contacted the New Zealand Police about Lawes.
They had been investigating a child sex ring in Iligan City and believed Lawes was connected in some way.
Police here then seized two computer hard drives and a laptop from Lawes' home on the North Shore, handing the devices over to Customs for forensic analysis.
The three computers contained almost 300 media files - images and videos - showing the exploitation or sexual abuse of children.
Many files depicted "pre pubescent and young teenage children" exposing their genitals and engaged in "sexual play" with other children or being abused by adults....
...Another adult Lawes communicated with was paid $4684 for live streamed sex shows....
...Lawes communicated with Donna more than 6000 times and she sent numerous "objectionable images showing the exploitation or abuse of children"....
..."He also stated that he was helping the people involved by giving them money as they were often living in poverty....
...The fact that the offending crossed multiple international jurisdictions also made investigating difficult.
But authorities in the lower socio-economic countries at the centre of the abuse were now actively hunting abusers and many had set up dedicated police units to stop and prevent abuse.
"It means they can investigate it much more effectively," he said.
"And international partnerships are so important - New Zealand police got onto this through a referral by the FBI.
"But for that referral, Martin Lawes may not have been apprehended."...
