An Auckland man's been sentenced for more than three years in prison for possessing thousands of child abuse images

Todd Keith Laurance Dale Williams pleaded guilty to four charges of knowingly possessing child exploitation material, after being found with nearly nine thousand photos and videos.

It included material of adults sexually abusing babies and children.

It follows an investigation from the Department of Internal Affairs and an international law enforcement agency into the sale of child sexual exploitation material through a social media app.