Repeat sex offender jailed for 13 years for child sexual abuse and objectionable material

A repeat sex offender in Christchurch has been jailed for more than 13 years on dozens of charges relating to child sexual abuse and objectionable material.

Glen Elwyn Connor was sentenced in the Christchurch District Court on Tuesday after pleading guilty to 43 charges, including offending against children.

The 34-year-old was caught after a tip from international law enforcement about a New Zealand-based cloud account distributing child sexual exploitation material.

Investigators linked Connor to the account and in 2024, his home in Linwood was searched and his devices seized.

Police and the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) uncovered thousands of illegal videos and images of children as young as six-months-old.

The charges included seven counts of distributing more than 8500 objectionable publications and 19 counts of possessing more than 14,700 objectionable publications.

Connor's offending spanned close to a decade, and spanned multiple online accounts across a range of platforms to possess and distribute thousands of illegal images and videos, a DIA spokesperson said.

"Evidence showed Connor had produced some material himself and whilst knowing he was under investigation, communicated with another online offender about targeting a young person."

He attempted to have the other offender blackmail the victim into providing explicit material, sharing their social media details to help the other user establish contact and attempt the offending, the Department said.

"The victims shown in the images were as young as six-months-old and ranged in age to teenagers. The callous nature of Connor's offending included using the lock screen of one of his mobile phones to display child sexual abuse material."

Connor was sentenced on Tuesday to 13 years and 6 months imprisonment, with a minimum imprisonable period of half that period.

He was previously convicted in 2012 for possessing objectionable material depicting child sexual exploitation.

Detective Sergeant Nick Adkins of the Canterbury Child Protection Team acknowledged Connor's victims.

"This was a comprehensive investigation between Police and the DIA. While no outcome will undo the damage this offender has done, we hope today's sentence will help bring some closure to the victims.

"The offending was characterised by the targeting of some of our most vulnerable members of society, who have bravely proven their own strength by assisting us in holding the offender accountable."

Digital Child Exploitation Team manager Tim Houston said the DIA was committed to identifying predators and holding them accountable for their "heinous crimes against innocent children".

"An offender, like Connor, who continues to exploit children despite facing previous consequences is showing deliberate, predatory behaviour and presents significant risk to our communities" he said.

In 2025, the Digital Child Exploitation Team carried out 52 searches for offences relating to online child sexual exploitation and helped safeguard 24 New Zealand children, while close to 700,000 attempts to access online child sexual exploitation and abuse material were blocked.

Where to get help - Sexual Violence

NZ Police.

Rape Crisis: 0800 88 33 00.

Rape Prevention Education.

Empowerment Trust.

HELP (Auckland): 09 623 1700, (Wellington): 04 801 6655.

Safe to talk: 0800 044 334.

Tautoko Tāne Male Survivors Aotearoa.

Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (SNAP) 022 344 0496.