Customs wants stronger law to seize childlike sex dolls favoured by paedophiles
'Full-unit is our interpretation of 'indecent or obscene', which is what we can seize under the law: a full doll.
'We ask our frontline staff 'If this was alive, would it be a child?'
'If the doll is short but developed like an adult we wouldn't call that a childlike sex doll – just a short sex doll. Other countries do, and their [seizure] numbers are higher.'
Peterson said Customs had to work with the legislation as it was written.
'We need to be careful we're not prohibiting the importation of things people would be okay with.
'We don't have legislation here that says what a child sex doll is, so we have to be quite conservative so we're not forever in court disputing people's appeals about what we've taken. Clarifications in law would be useful for that.'
Peterson said since 2017 there have been seven border seizures and four post-border seizures of the high-tech, expensive and very controversial 'full-unit' dolls in New Zealand.
By comparison, 47 dolls (inclusive of full and part-dolls) were seized nationally by the Australian Border Force during the 2024-25 financial year alone.
Chief Customs Officer Simon Peterson said Australia has aggressive seizure laws but New Zealand Customs is limited to confiscating only 'full-unit' childlike sex dolls. Photo / NZME
In 2019, a Timaru man in his late 50s became the first New Zealander to be jailed for importing one.
What are they?
The dolls are manufactured to resemble children in terms of size, development and perceived age. They're anatomically detailed, and made from materials that mimic human structures, flesh and skin.
They're used for sexual purposes by paedophiles and their existence is extremely controversial, raising serious legal, ethical, psychological and child-welfare concerns globally.
According to Customs all the dolls seized in New Zealand were manufactured in Asia. Some were bought from large, China-based online shopping sites.
'They're not cheap' Peterson told the Herald. 'At least $2000 each, plus it's expensive to ship them here.'
In 2023 Customs sent an intelligence analyst to the Border Five Intelligence Conference in Canada, which included intelligence-sharing on the child sex dolls problem globally. Customs continues to talk to intelligence and investigation contacts overseas about the issue.
So far in New Zealand, would-be smugglers have worked alone, Peterson said.
'We haven't seen anyone try to commercially import them or anything organised-crime related. There may have been some concern up in Europe that that may have been a trend, and they tend to be ahead of us – so we're keeping an eye on that.'
Timaru man jailed for importing sex doll
In 2019, Timaru man Stephen Heppleston, 58, became the first person in New Zealand to be jailed for importing a child sex doll.
Customs officers found the lifelike doll resembling a young child while they were examining imports from China.
Three NSW men were arrested in 2020 for the alleged purchase of these dolls. Photo / Australian Border Force
Heppleston pleaded guilty to importing the child sex doll and possessing objectionable publications relating to the sexual exploitation of children. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison.
'Full-unit' dolls and the law
While the dolls aren't mentioned in New Zealand law, the Customs and Excise Act 2018 prohibits the importation of 'indecent or obscene articles' – interpreted by Customs as 'full-unit' dolls.
Offenders can face up to six months in prison for trying to import one.
'The legislation does work,' said Peterson. 'It could be better [but] we work really well with Police and Department of Internal Affairs and we're motivated to make it work.'
By contrast, in Australia importing childlike sex dolls is a specific offence under the Customs Act. The maximum penalty if convicted is up to 10 years' imprisonment and/or fines up to $525,000 ($575,000).
The UK has similar rules to New Zealand but interprets them more strictly, including seizing dolls based on height and childlike faces.
'Proportionally per capita we have similar numbers of full-unit seizures but [the UK is] seizing a lot more parts,' said Peterson.
'If you import the lower part of a sex doll, there's no way we can tell that it is childlike.
'A part might be a flesh-like kind of thing. We can't say it represents a child – but other jurisdictions do.'
It's unclear whether parts have been reassembled in New Zealand into full-unit dolls. Peterson said it's a potential workaround to evade the law, but Customs hasn't seen it.
Peterson would like to see a review of the various laws that oversee child sexual exploitation and abuse so that modern loopholes to do with dolls, as well as rising threats from AI and the streaming of abuse, are captured.
'Other countries have adopted 'crimes against children' legislation. Australians do it well – they're aggressive with it,' he said.
A second loophole
Eleanor Parkes, national director of Ecpat – a New Zealand-based NGO working to end child sexual exploitation – told the Herald importing part-dolls is not the only loophole New Zealand paedophiles have exploited in order to get a doll.
She said one adult anatomical detail will be added to an otherwise-childlike doll so importers can 'make the case they're not childlike'.
'The dolls are small, they are like children in every way, their skin feels like real skin, they respond like children, they sound like children – then they point to one feature, such as breasts or pubic hair, to make the case it's not childlike – when everything else about it is clearly childlike.
'Some say these childlike sex dolls act as a safe outlet for people who have dangerous sexual preferences but that doesn't hold up to scrutiny and actually the opposite might be true. They're an indulgence and [accepting them] risks harm to real children.'
Parkes said the dolls are getting increasingly realistic and numbers of them are rising overseas.
'Let's get that serious legislation in place before it happens,' she said. 'We should take the opportunity to get our systems in place because New Zealand tends to follow global trends.'
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
2 hours ago
- RNZ News
Battling the flood of drugs at Auckland Airport
Drugs siezed by Customs in February 2025. Photo: Customs / supplied The trickle of drugs into the country has become a flood, fed by New Zealanders' appetite for them and willingness to pay. Between January and May this year Customs officers nationwide seized more than 1600 kgs of methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA. About a third of that comes through Auckland Airport - it has seized 542kg of methamphetamine and cocaine so far this year. Today on The Detail we head out to the business end of customs there to get the inside view of what's going on. Customs manager Paul Williams says they are dealing with an increasing number of smuggling attempts, and some of the culprits do not even try to hide it. "The biggest shift that we've seen is no concealment whatsoever. So we're seeing criminal groups using couriers and you open up the bag and the drugs are sitting there," he says. Williams puts the change down to criminals becoming more confident. "It's a confidence they have, with respect to what they're doing and I expect like any business they perhaps operate at a level of understanding of what type of wastage or what type of level of drugs they may lose with respects to their efforts," he says. When Williams started out in the sector, a little over two decades ago, drug trafficking was an occasional event, and when it happened the substances were meticulously concealed. But nowadays drugs are found in mail or cargo every day. On just one flight there was a haul of 101 kg. Customs manager at Auckland Airport, Paul Williams Photo: Customs NZ Tracking and uncovering the drugs involves casting a broad net. "It's not just an officer in a booth, we may have a dog operating... we work really closely with international partners around trends, observations, their own experiences and that helps us look at people in advance through the data the airlines have," Williams says. A large amount of the illicit drug market comes out of parts of South America and Asia, but Williams says that doesn't mean they only focus on people and luggage coming from those places. "The key thing to remember is that for New Zealand, we receive multiple flights and multiple vessels from a host of different trade routes and passenger routes... and so criminal groups will always look to try to hide where things are coming from," he says. The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime says organised criminal networks are driving the illicit drug trade, with devastating consequences for people and communities around the world. It says stopping drug trafficking requires long-term co-ordinated action to address supply and demand, and to prevent organised criminal groups from exploiting vulnerabilities. Williams says there is significant investment in offshore operations because best case scenario is catching the drugs before they even get here. "It's a real win for New Zealand because, just purely from a fiscal perspective, you don't have a court process, you don't have that lead in time to the court process, you don't have drugs that you have to store and then eventually dispose of. "You don't run the risk of those drugs actually entering society and having all the actual harm that comes from the consumption from those drugs," he says. Williams says the nature of drug trafficking has changed a lot over the years, so reflecting and learning from past cases is essential. "We've done a lot in the export space... to help and protect the primary exporters of New Zealand, helping them secure their supply chain a bit more and then they get trade-offs through the Authorised Economic Operator programme... faster access to market essentially. "We work really closely with DHL, FedEx, a host of other facilitators of imported goods and we look to educate them on what it is that we see at the border and we talk to them about exploitation, we talk to them about vulnerabilities within the supply chain. "The more that they understand how the supply chain works and where the vulnerabilities are the more they are attuned to what's going on and that then results in them talking to us and they can often come to us and say 'we think we've got an issue here,' and we will go in and we'll help them." Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here . You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter .
NZ Herald
11 hours ago
- NZ Herald
Security guard Leon Saufoi who ‘badly assaulted' Uber driver allowed to keep licence
McConnell, in her decision, confirmed the assault conviction was grounds for disqualification and therefore a mandatory ground for cancelling Saufoi's certificate unless a waiver from disqualification was granted. She accepted his actions were out of character and that he had taken full responsibility for them and all reasonable steps to ensure he did not offend in a similar way again. McConnell said the convictions did not establish that he was no longer suitable to be a certificate holder. 'At the time of his offending Mr Saufoi was facing personal and family issues which he had kept bottled up inside. His actions on the night in question were out of character and he accepts he just exploded and reacted violently and irrationally to very minor provocation.' Speaking to NZME, Saufoi said what happened was out of character. 'Leading up to the incident I was going through a lot. My dad had just been diagnosed with cancer and the location where everything happened was a place connected to the recent loss of one of my closest friends. 'That context does not excuse my actions, but it helps explain where I was mentally and emotionally at that time.' He said after his security licence was suspended he took time to reflect on how he manages his emotions. 'I self-referred myself to a 20-week living without violence programme and also completed the Tupu programme. 'Initially my lawyer suggested I apply for a Section 106 (discharge without conviction) since it was my first offence. But as I worked through the programmes, I realised I needed to take full responsibility, so I withdrew the application.' Saufoi advised the authority that he had stopped drinking alcohol after his offending and had remained sober since. He had completed a Man Alive anti-violence programme and a Te Whatu Ora alcohol programme. McConnell said Saufoi had explained what he had learned from the courses and counselling he had attended. Trish McConnell is the chair of the Private Security Personnel Licensing Authority which oversees the security guard and private investigator industries. McConnell waived the grounds for disqualification. 'In particular, he now talks about the issues he is facing rather than bottling them up inside him and has learnt to recognise and appropriately address his trigger points,' she said in her decision. Instead of cancelling Saufoi's security certificate, she extended the suspension period that had already been imposed to a total of 20 months with provision for him to be able to apply to get the suspension lifted after he had completed his sentence of community detention. Saufoi's certificate of approval was suspended for 18 months from July 19. He will be able to apply to have the suspension revoked and his certificate reinstated once he has completed his community detention sentence. To do so he must provide the Licensing Authority with confirmation he has completed his sentence without any breaches. He must also supply a letter from a security licence holder confirming that they know about his convictions and are willing to employ or engage him if his security certificate is reinstated. They will also be required to outline what supervision will be in place for him when he commences working. Saufoi told NZME he was grateful for the grace shown to him. 'I accept the outcome and feel the conditions are fair. What happened was out of character and the programmes have given me practical tools to recognise my triggers, process emotions better and avoid letting things bottle up again. He said he wanted to return to security as it is the work he was most comfortable with. 'It's what I have the most experience with and where I've found I fit in the most. I've grown a lot since the last time I was in the industry and now have a deeper understanding of my personal impact and how to better stay steady in high pressure moments. Less reactive and more mindful.' Al Williams is an Open Justice reporter for the New Zealand Herald, based in Christchurch. He has worked in daily and community titles in New Zealand and overseas for the last 16 years. Most recently he was editor of the Hauraki-Coromandel Post, based in Whangamatā. He was previously deputy editor of the Cook Islands News.
NZ Herald
a day ago
- NZ Herald
Customs wants stronger law to seize childlike sex dolls favoured by paedophiles
That's because New Zealand's legal definition of the dolls is narrower than other countries' definitions, he said. 'Full-unit is our interpretation of 'indecent or obscene', which is what we can seize under the law: a full doll. 'We ask our frontline staff 'If this was alive, would it be a child?' 'If the doll is short but developed like an adult we wouldn't call that a childlike sex doll – just a short sex doll. Other countries do, and their [seizure] numbers are higher.' Peterson said Customs had to work with the legislation as it was written. 'We need to be careful we're not prohibiting the importation of things people would be okay with. 'We don't have legislation here that says what a child sex doll is, so we have to be quite conservative so we're not forever in court disputing people's appeals about what we've taken. Clarifications in law would be useful for that.' Peterson said since 2017 there have been seven border seizures and four post-border seizures of the high-tech, expensive and very controversial 'full-unit' dolls in New Zealand. By comparison, 47 dolls (inclusive of full and part-dolls) were seized nationally by the Australian Border Force during the 2024-25 financial year alone. Chief Customs Officer Simon Peterson said Australia has aggressive seizure laws but New Zealand Customs is limited to confiscating only 'full-unit' childlike sex dolls. Photo / NZME In 2019, a Timaru man in his late 50s became the first New Zealander to be jailed for importing one. What are they? The dolls are manufactured to resemble children in terms of size, development and perceived age. They're anatomically detailed, and made from materials that mimic human structures, flesh and skin. They're used for sexual purposes by paedophiles and their existence is extremely controversial, raising serious legal, ethical, psychological and child-welfare concerns globally. According to Customs all the dolls seized in New Zealand were manufactured in Asia. Some were bought from large, China-based online shopping sites. 'They're not cheap' Peterson told the Herald. 'At least $2000 each, plus it's expensive to ship them here.' In 2023 Customs sent an intelligence analyst to the Border Five Intelligence Conference in Canada, which included intelligence-sharing on the child sex dolls problem globally. Customs continues to talk to intelligence and investigation contacts overseas about the issue. So far in New Zealand, would-be smugglers have worked alone, Peterson said. 'We haven't seen anyone try to commercially import them or anything organised-crime related. There may have been some concern up in Europe that that may have been a trend, and they tend to be ahead of us – so we're keeping an eye on that.' Timaru man jailed for importing sex doll In 2019, Timaru man Stephen Heppleston, 58, became the first person in New Zealand to be jailed for importing a child sex doll. Customs officers found the lifelike doll resembling a young child while they were examining imports from China. Three NSW men were arrested in 2020 for the alleged purchase of these dolls. Photo / Australian Border Force Heppleston pleaded guilty to importing the child sex doll and possessing objectionable publications relating to the sexual exploitation of children. He was sentenced to 18 months in prison. 'Full-unit' dolls and the law While the dolls aren't mentioned in New Zealand law, the Customs and Excise Act 2018 prohibits the importation of 'indecent or obscene articles' – interpreted by Customs as 'full-unit' dolls. Offenders can face up to six months in prison for trying to import one. 'The legislation does work,' said Peterson. 'It could be better [but] we work really well with Police and Department of Internal Affairs and we're motivated to make it work.' By contrast, in Australia importing childlike sex dolls is a specific offence under the Customs Act. The maximum penalty if convicted is up to 10 years' imprisonment and/or fines up to $525,000 ($575,000). The UK has similar rules to New Zealand but interprets them more strictly, including seizing dolls based on height and childlike faces. 'Proportionally per capita we have similar numbers of full-unit seizures but [the UK is] seizing a lot more parts,' said Peterson. 'If you import the lower part of a sex doll, there's no way we can tell that it is childlike. 'A part might be a flesh-like kind of thing. We can't say it represents a child – but other jurisdictions do.' It's unclear whether parts have been reassembled in New Zealand into full-unit dolls. Peterson said it's a potential workaround to evade the law, but Customs hasn't seen it. Peterson would like to see a review of the various laws that oversee child sexual exploitation and abuse so that modern loopholes to do with dolls, as well as rising threats from AI and the streaming of abuse, are captured. 'Other countries have adopted 'crimes against children' legislation. Australians do it well – they're aggressive with it,' he said. A second loophole Eleanor Parkes, national director of Ecpat – a New Zealand-based NGO working to end child sexual exploitation – told the Herald importing part-dolls is not the only loophole New Zealand paedophiles have exploited in order to get a doll. She said one adult anatomical detail will be added to an otherwise-childlike doll so importers can 'make the case they're not childlike'. 'The dolls are small, they are like children in every way, their skin feels like real skin, they respond like children, they sound like children – then they point to one feature, such as breasts or pubic hair, to make the case it's not childlike – when everything else about it is clearly childlike. 'Some say these childlike sex dolls act as a safe outlet for people who have dangerous sexual preferences but that doesn't hold up to scrutiny and actually the opposite might be true. They're an indulgence and [accepting them] risks harm to real children.' Parkes said the dolls are getting increasingly realistic and numbers of them are rising overseas. 'Let's get that serious legislation in place before it happens,' she said. 'We should take the opportunity to get our systems in place because New Zealand tends to follow global trends.' Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
