How could this trusted man be so `despicable'?

16th October 2008

by staff reporters news@dailypost.co.nz

Former Rotorua St John Ambulance area manager Robin Andrew has pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.



Former Rotorua St John Ambulance manager Robin Andrew's addiction to child pornography has disgusted and shocked colleagues who respected him and neighbours who trusted him.

A former colleague "disgusted" by the 61-year-old's fall from grace, says his offending brings St John into disrepute. A former neighbour who trusted him around her children says Andrew should be castrated and locked up for good.

They and others spoke out following Andrew's pleas of guilty in the Rotorua District Court yesterday to 13 charges of possessing objectionable material. Police consider the images found at his home to be of the worst type of pornography available.

Andrew (pictured right) had a large library of 550 compact discs and DVDs of mainly child pornography and images of bestiality - 71,788 images. Stories of paedophilia and incest were also found stored on his computers and discs.

Pictures and videos featured children aged from one to about 12, some being sexually abused. Material was labelled "teen" and "adult".

People spoken to by The Daily Post yesterday asked not to be named but talked about their shock and disgust.

"I was very surprised," a former colleague said. "He was a very good ambulance officer. He cared for his patients. He always acted very professionally and did a good job. "I still think he is a good ambulance officer but don't think very highly of him as a person for what he did. It's unbelievable someone of his stature and high regard would do such a cowardly and despicable thing. It reflects badly on the service."

Another officer had considered Andrew to be "an all-round decent bloke". "Everyone is shocked. None of us had any idea."



A former neighbour of Andrew, who wanted only to be identified as Jan, said she was disgusted. "He was such a lovely man and I trusted him around my kids. He should be castrated, locked up and the key thrown away. He's nothing but a ... pervert." Another neighbour said she never dreamed he was involved in child pornography. "I'm really shocked. This is appalling."



Andrew did have some supporters yesterday, including a neighbour who said thought the case had been blown out of proportion. "Every man looks at porn at some stage of their life. Rob was a really nice bloke, he wouldn't have hurt anyone," he said. A St John member said Andrew was dedicated to his job and would be horrified to think his behaviour might reflect badly on the service. "He was a genuine and caring person. He'd give the shirt off his back."

Andrew's friend Kay Orr said she was standing by him. She had known him for six years and while conceding he had "done wrong" he didn't deserve jail after serving his community as an advanced paramedic. "He's saved many lives and unfortunately, he's got caught." She claimed Andrew never viewed many of the images he downloaded. "The child porn was unknowingly downloaded with other adult porn but he was never interested in that rubbish. He was so committed and dedicated to working for St John he never had time to look at it or destroy the unwanted downloads."

Andrew appeared before Justices of the Peace Ron Hope and Ralph de Raat yesterday when his lawyer Bill Lawson entered guilty pleas on his behalf.

New Zealand police received information in January from Brazilian police regarding a computer file sharing programme called "eMule". Links were found to files containing graphic images of child abuse. A list of users' addresses for the period July 1-12 2007 led police to Andrew.



When spoken to by police, Andrew admitted he had a problem with pornography. He said he hadn't shared the images with anyone, downloading them as a collector. Andrew was remanded on bail until sentencing on November 28. A pre-sentence and home detention report were requested.