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Child abuse

Brent Ruddell sentencing: Family of Kerikeri paedophile's victims lash out in court, judge becomes visibly emotional

Warning: This article discusses child sex crimes.

A High Court Judge was visibly emotional as he sentenced a serial paedophile to 15 years in jail on Wednesday.

Brent Ruddell took advantage of solo mums to prey on their children - crimes one police officer described as the worst he'd seen.

He entered the court with a freshly shaved head, but as he tried to hide his face and his tears, Brent Ruddell's security guard told him to face his victims.

"You have to look up and face these women," he could be heard telling the child sex offender.

Ruddell was convicted earlier this year on more than 70 charges relating to the export, possession, and distribution of objectionable publications, abduction for sex, unlawful sexual connection, sexual conduct with children, and for minor drug-related charges.

On Wednesday, in the Whangarei High Court, he was sentenced to 15 years and five months' imprisonment, with a minimum non-parole period of eight years.

Prior to his arrest last year, Ruddell wasn't known to the authorities.

"There was a lot of offending against children for a long time that no one knew about, or no one had reported," a Customs officer told the court.

Overseas agencies told Customs his server uploaded child exploitation material to the internet. A search warrant found 1200 files on his laptop and on his phone.

The videos totalled well over two hours of children being exploited. But it wasn't so much the volume of material that shocked police - it was the nature of it.

"From a personal perspective, that's the worst I've seen in terms of age of offending," said Detective Inspector Rhys Johnston.

Among the content seized were videos of Ruddell himself offending. They were against five very young girls - between ages three and six - on separate occasions.

It emerged Ruddell had found all his victims the same way.

"We believe this has been the targeting of vulnerable solo mothers in this case, and vulnerable children," Det Insp Johnston said.

After befriending the mothers, he attempted to babysit their children. On one occasion he abused two sisters while their mother slept in the next room.

On other occassions he would perform unspeakable acts while recording on his phone camera.

The court heard the life-long impact of Ruddell's heinous crimes.

"You not only hurt one of our own, you caused immeasurable suffering, grief and heartache to our entire family," one woman told the court. "It shook the foundations of our lives to the very core."

"You slowly brought my daughter's secure walls down so you could get access to my granddaughter and so you could use her to fill your own depraved wants and needs.

"You are nothing, you are less than nothing."

Justice Woolford sentenced Ruddell to 15 years in jail - deciding against preventive detention. At the end, he thanked families for their courage, and himself appeared visibly shaken.

Serial paedophile Brent Ruddell will be eligible for parole in 2028.

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