Phillip Burns was blase when interviewed by Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) officials in May 2016. When asked about the children in the material, Burns said they were "possibly from Russia, where probably worse has happened''. Judge Michael Crosbie described his attitude at the time of interview as "troubling, if not abhorrent''. In December 2015, Burns downloaded five images to his email through a Google account. Burns' search triggered an alert at the United States' National Center for Missing and Exploited Children which contacted the DIA in New Zealand.

Source: Otago Daily Times March 08, 2018 17:03 UTC