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TV presenter pleads guilty to porn charge
By SHEILA LASIBORI
A TELEVISION presenter at PNG’s only
television station, EMTV, has pleaded guilty to possessing pornographic
material.
Darryl Awaita, 30, from Tufi, district, Oro province, on Wednesday
before the Boroko District Court changed his “not guilty” plea of Feb 7
to guilty.
His lawyer David Awaita and police prosecutors will make their
submissions on his penalty next month.
Awaita, made his first appearance before the same court on Feb 7 after
he was charged by the police drug squad unit under Section 25A (1) of
the Summary Offence Act, with having in his personal computer and
hard-drive pornographic materials.
Police first heard of the items on Jan 30, when the EMTV management
informed them, after sighting the pornographic materials on a computer
in their promotions department.
Police said that on Jan 30, at the EMTV office at Boroko, Awaita had in
his possession foreign pornographic material in his personal computers’
hard-drive “that grossly offended accepted standards of decency”.
The management had told police that Awaita was the only person
responsible for the usage of the particular computer, where the items
were sighted.
He was charged after police confirmed that the materials were “hardcore
pornographic” items.
This was after the police and EMTV’s IT staff, in the presence of the
defendant, viewed part of the material on the computer.
The computers and other devices were seized by police.
Meanwhile, 28-year-old Marilyn Masani from Milne Bay province, who
pleaded guilty to charges of being in possession of 70 pornographic
video discs and illicit drugs, will know next month if she will spend
three months in prison on custodial sentence or pay a fine and serve a
suspended jail term sentence on good behavior bond.
Her lawyer Nerrie Eliakim and police prosecutor Aibare Bosing made their
submissions on her penalty before the Boroko District Court, which had
reserved its decision to next month.
 
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