Manager jailed 42 months over child abuse images
HK01 · 2 SOURCESabout 1 hour ago3 MIN
Summary
A 47-year-old moving company manager, identified in court as C.K.H.A., was sentenced to 42 months in prison at West Kowloon Magistrates’ Courts sitting as the District Court after pleading guilty to 18 offences involving his girlfriend’s daughter, aged about 11 to 12 at the time. Deputy Judge Tsui Yee-wai said the girl had viewed him as a family member, but he repeatedly abused that trust in the Yuen Long flat where they lived together and kept explicit images that caused additional psychological harm.
Key Points
- C.K.H.A., 47, faced seven indecent assault charges, three counts of possessing child pornography and eight counts of making child pornography.
- The indecent assaults were alleged to have taken place seven times in a Yuen Long flat between August 28, 2023 and March 17, 2024.
- The image-related offences covered May 31, 2023 to April 5, 2024 and involved 173 photographs and 50 videos of the girl X.
- The judge cited psychological and background reports saying the defendant claimed that, under the influence of alcohol, he mistakenly saw X as his girlfriend and developed improper sexual interest.
- Police uncovered the case on April 5, 2024 after a dispute with X’s brother, then found two photos in his wallet and more material on his phone and Redmi tablet.
- The court heard that X was born in 2012 and was only 11 to 12 during the offences; her biological father died in 2014, and the defendant began a relationship with her mother in 2019 before moving into the family home. Investigators found two albums on his devices, one named with the full names of X and the defendant alongside wording about having sex and becoming lovers, and another titled “X and the defendant in sweet intimacy and affection”. The seized material included images and videos of X bathing, performing masturbation and oral sex on the defendant, and scenes showing sexual touching on a bed; one image showed the defendant’s penis near X’s lips.
- Judge Tsui said there was no evidence of violence, threats or inducement, but stressed that the age gap of more than 30 years itself made it difficult for the child to understand, avoid or reject the conduct. She said a home should have been a place of protection for X, yet it became the setting for sustained sexual abuse, and the deliberate filming and retention of nude and abuse footage was a clear aggravating factor. In a video interview, the defendant said his relationship with X was like that of father and daughter, while some photos were taken when she was asleep; he denied having sexual intercourse with her.
Why It Matters
The case underlines how Hong Kong courts treat abuse within a household and the making or keeping of child sexual abuse material as especially serious because of the breach of trust and lasting psychological damage involved. The sentencing also showed the court taking account of the defendant’s separate prison term, reducing the present sentence by four months from an intended three years and 10 months to 42 months